Breaking Free
by glitterfairyshells
Summary: When shy and intelligent Ariella Potter and Quidditch hotshot Lucas Malfoy get paired together for a school project, Ariella knows that she shouldn't feel anything but hatred towards him. So why does she feel attracted to him?
1. Chapter 1 The Project

_**A/N:**_

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything that you recognise. I only own the characters, items and locations that you don't recognise._

_**Summary:** When shy and intelligent Ariella Potter and Quidditch hotshot Lucas Malfoy get paired together for a school project, Ariella knows that she shouldn't feel anything but hatred towards him. So why does she feel attracted to him? And what will Ariella do when Lucas returns her affections? Will they ever break free from their cliques and parents' rivalry so they can be together?_

_This is my 4th full length fic on here. This has nothing to do with the _One Night Trilogy_. It's apart of it's own trilogy which has been named the _Breaking Free Trilogy._ Just sit back, relax and enjoy the show!_

_Now onto our feature presentation. Here's Chapter One! All I ask of you is to enjoy and please leave a review at the end of the chapter.

* * *

_

**Breaking Free.**

**Chapter One - The Project.**

Sixteen-year-old Ariella Potter wasn't your usual girl. Firstly she had possibly one of the most famous people alive as her father and secondly she was a witch. At first glance you would think that she was completely normal for she was around five feet, three inches tall and was quite slim. She also had a heart shaped face and large, almond shaped, hazel eyes. Her shoulder length, chestnut brown, wavy hair framed her face perfectly. She looked like any other child her age and you wouldn't know that she possessed magical powers until you saw her perform a spell or she told you her secret.

Ariella came from a perfectly normal family too. She had a father named Harry and a mother named Ginevra or Ginny, as she was informally known. Her parents had been together since her father was sixteen and her mother fifteen. Sure they had had their rocky moments, after all no relationship can run smoothly because the world isn't perfect. Her parents had even broken up for over a year so that Ariella's father could fight in the Great War however once he had come to his senses he told Ariella's mother that he loved her and after quite a bit of awkwardness they got back together. They had now been happily married for eighteen years.

Ariella's parents' first child, Ember, was born a year after their marriage. Ember stood at five feet four inches tall and had wavy, fairly short hair that was mostly light brown with streaks of blonde in it. Her hair sometimes turned a copper colour in different lights and she had a black patch of hair on the back of her head. She also had big; almond shaped greyish-turquoise eyes and a curvy body. Ember was seventeen and in her last year at the school that she and Ariella attended.

The Potters' second child, Ariella, was conceived two months after Dessy was born. She came into the world just after her mother had been pregnant for thirty-five weeks; this had made her five weeks premature. Ariella was currently in her sixth year and had just started her classes that would get her ready for the tests that she had to take in her seventh year. Ariella was shy and intelligent whereas her older sister was confident and outgoing.

The Potters' third and final child, Felicity, or Fliss as everyone called her came along when Ariella was six years old. She stood at four feet, nine inches tall and was a skinny child. She was set to become the tallest of the Potter children. She had emerald green eyes and mid back length, auburn hair. Fliss was ten and would be joining Ariella at school the following September.

Most of Ariella's friends called her Ari, in fact everyone called her Ari, even her teachers would call her Ari unless they were scolding her which wasn't very often, it was only her father that would use her full name. He thought that she should use the name that she had been given when she was born and not shorten it. It was the same with her siblings too; in fact the only informal name he would use was her mother's name.

At the beginning of our story, we find Ariella sitting in her Muggle Studies lesson at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As usual Ariella was taking notes while her friend, Dawn, was staring into space. Ariella looked at Dawn and noticed that she was staring at a boy with dirty blonde hair. Ariella nudged then glared at her friend before looking back at her notes.

"Stop it," Ariella whispered as she furiously wrote down everything that her teacher was saying.

"I can't help it! He's gorgeous!" Dawn replied quietly.

Ariella shrugged her shoulders then continued her note taking. Sometimes she just wished that people wouldn't be so into the boy. He was just another lunk head Quidditch hotshot that only cared about himself. It seemed that all the attention he got from the girls in the school seemed to make his overly large ego swell even more. She hated this boy with every bone in her body. She had to hate this boy because she had been brought up to hate him and his family. You see, Ariella's father and the boys' father had been enemies at school and they still were to this day. Her father wouldn't talk about the family at all. Her mother had told her why she had to hate the boy. Apparently, the whole of his family had been connected to Lord Voldemort. Even after that discussion, she didn't know the whole story.

Ariella now found herself gazing at the boy. She could see the December sun beating down on his head and she marveled at the way that it made his hair shine. He ran a hand through his hair then leant his head on his hand. He looked so bored but he didn't need to pass his NEWTs as he was tipped to become a Quidditch player when he left school. Ariella shook her head and focused her attention back to her professor. She looked down at her piece of parchment and realised that there wasn't any point in trying to catch up with her notes because she could quite easily borrow them from someone later that night to finish them. Instead Ariella paid attention to the teacher.

"Now, I won't bore you about the different types of Muggle technology. That would take far too long," her professor was saying.

Ariella sighed and held her head in her hands because she knew what was coming next.

"Instead I'm going to assign you a partner and you shall research five different types of Muggle technology together as a team. I will want to know what they are called and what they are used for. I will also be looking for a reason why Muggles use each type of technology and how it helps them with their everyday lives. Now your partners are as follows…"

Ariella zoned out and stared out of the window until she heard her name.

"Ari, you will be partnered with Lucas."

Ariella looked up at her professor and gasped.

"Is there a problem Miss Potter?"

The professor seemed to be searching Ariella's should with her eyes to find out what the problem was.

"Lucas? I have to work with _Lucas?_ I can't work with him Professor," Ariella replied whilst thinking that this whole situation was just a huge joke.

By now everyone in the class, including the boy named Lucas was looking at Ariella. They all stared at her in a state of disbelief; they couldn't believe that the shy Ariella Potter was backchatting a teacher. Lucas ran his hand through his floppy hair and glared at Ariella, which she returned.

Her professor looked at Ariella then said, "Ari, you will work with him whether you like it or not. This is supposed to be promoting house unity as well as teaching you about Muggles. I have paired everyone with a person from a different house and you will be no different."

Ariella sighed then put her chin in her hand. She looked over at Lucas and saw him smirking triumphantly at her. Oh how she wished that she could wipe that silly smirk off his face. Ariella smiled at the thought of this and looked back at the teacher.

"Now, as I was saying. I will give you two weeks to complete this task. Good luck! You are dismissed."

Ariella started to pack her things away and noticed that Lucas was smirking at her while he gathered his things together. She shook it off and out it down to him being his usual arrogant self. She continued to put her various pieces of parchment into her bag and found that her thoughts had now turned to her father. This project wasn't a good idea at all. She just hoped that her father wouldn't go on the warpath when he found out whom she was working with. He would hate the fact that his daughter was working with _that boy.

* * *

_

_Hope you liked it. Please remember to review!_


	2. Chapter 2 Talking To Lucas

_**A/N:**_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own anything that you recognise. I only own the characters, items and locations that you don't recognise._

_**Summary:**__ When shy and intelligent Ariella Potter and Quidditch hotshot Lucas Malfoy get paired together for a school project, Ariella knows that she shouldn't feel anything but hatred towards him. So why does she feel attracted to him? And what will Ariella do when Lucas returns her affections? Will they ever break free from their cliques and parents' rivalry so they can be together?_

_Okay what happened to the other 73 readers? Reviewing only takes a few seconds so please do it. It helps me to know what you like and dislike and I can use that information to make the fic better!_

_**Reviews:**_

_**darkwhiterose - **__Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm glad you like the story._

_**nadia the demented one - **__Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm glad you like it._

_Now onto our feature presentation. Here's Chapter Two! All I ask of you is to enjoy and please leave a review at the end of the chapter.

* * *

_

**Chapter Two – Talking To Lucas.**

Now you may be wondering whom _that boy _is. Well _that boy _is the eldest child of Draco Malfoy and Draco Malfoy is the reason why Ariella and her sisters were brought up to hate the Malfoy's. You see Draco Malfoy was Harry's enemy at school.

Once the class had emptied, Lucas grabbed his bag and made his way to the door with the rest of his friends. As he approached the door, Lucas glared at Ariella. As he did this, a girl with mousy brown hair nudged the girl who was stood next to her and nodded in Lucas' direction. The girl giggled and smiled at Lucas but he didn't even acknowledge her. He simply walked straight past her and out of the door. Ariella's friend nudged Ariella and laughed softly.

"Looks like Khadesia's still trying to get Lucas," she said to Ariella.

Ariella looked at her best friend. Dawn was five foot, three inches tall. She was a petite girl. Dawn's hair was blonde and she had green, almond shaped eyes.

She looked at Dawn and smiled. She then looked down at her bag and continued to pack it. Once Ariella was sure that everything was in her bag, she picked it up and walked out of the room briskly. Once Ariella was in the hallway she looked at Lucas and sighed. He was laughing with his friends while gesturing to something with his hands. She didn't want to talk to him because she knew that he was arrogant and had a huge ego.

Lucas thought that every girl at the school wanted him and Ariella knew that it was true; every girl apart from her wanted him. Then there was his sister, now she was naïve. She was fourteen and thought that the world revolved around her. She was a real daddy's princess. She had honey brown, shoulder length hair that she always wore down. She probably wore it down so she could flip it over her shoulder whenever she felt the need to. She also had almond, hazel eyes that seemed to search your soul whenever she looked at you, and as for her curves. How Ariella wished she had her curves, they were what got her all of the attention she had but Lucas made sure that the attention didn't last for long. He was a very over protective brother.

Ariella didn't know much about Lucas' parents but from what she had been told his father bullied anyone and everyone while he was at school. His father had also been a Death Eater when the Great War had taken place. He had also tried to kill Ariella's father during said war but of course he had failed.

She also didn't know much about his mother; in fact she knew nothing about her. The only thing she had been told was that Lucas' mother was just as nasty as her husband. The name Malfoy was very much banned in the Potter household.

Ariella watched as Lucas ran his hand through the dirty blonde mop of hair on his head. He then pulled a Golden Snitch out of his pocket and started to play with it all the time still talking to his friends. Ariella tutted at the sight of the snitch as it was probably stolen. Ariella sighed again and looked at Lucas. His friends had walked away now. She started to make her way towards Lucas. When she was in front of him he looked down at her and smirked.

Ariella stuck out her hand then said, "Ari Potter."

Lucas glared at her and ignored the hand that Ariella was holding out.

"I know perfectly well who you are _Potter. _This is purely for a project. We will _never_ be friends," Lucas sneered at her.

Ariella put her hand beside her and glared at Lucas.

"I wasn't asking to be your friend. I was merely being polite but then again you wouldn't know the meaning of the word polite. So how do you want to do this project?"

"Let me tell you this. I _don't _want to do the project. _You _can do the work and then I'll get the O and be very happy. Now I have to go to Quidditch practise. I don't need silly little girls like you making me late."

And with that he stalked off in the direction of the Entrance Hall. Ariella watched him walk off and sighed. She knew that it was going to be impossible to work with him. When she turned back round, Ariella found herself facing Khadesia Rogers. Khadesia was skinny but extremely curvy. She used her curves to try and get Lucas to notice her. She stood at five foot, two inches tall and had dark brown, oval eyes. She also had curly, dark brown hair and was hardly ever seen without her friend Alyssa. Alyssa was a very plain girl with mousy brown hair and dull brown eyes. Ariella looked at Khadesia and sighed. She really didn't need to deal with her right now. Khadesia looked straight at her and smirked.

"He doesn't want to know you. Whenever Lucas looks at you all he sees is an O. He doesn't like you he likes me. Me and Lucas are meant to be," Khadesia told Ariella.

Ariella looked at Alyssa and saw that she was nodding along with Khadesia. Sometimes it seemed that Alyssa was more of a lapdog for Khadesia rather than a friend because she was the one who had to do the dirty work.

"I'm not looking for any kind of relationship with him. All I want is to pass this stupid project and then get on with my life. Once the project is done I'm going to forget I ever worked with Lucas," Ariella replied.

"Good, we shouldn't have any problems with each other then."

Ariella smirked then turned on her heel and walked off in the direction of the Entrance Hall. Her mission at the moment was to find Lucas and get a few things off her chest. After five minutes of walking, Ariella found herself stood in front of the Quidditch Pitch. Ariella sat herself down in the stands and started to read a book while she waited for the Slytherins to finish their practise. Before she knew half an hour had past and the Slytherin Quidditch team descended down to the ground. Ariella put her book away and made her way to the changing rooms. She outside them and one by one the team came out. Lucas was the last to come out. He came out his best friend Blake. Lucas looked at Ariella and groaned.

"What now?" he snapped.

"You are an arrogant person! Forget that! You are the most arrogant person I have ever met in my life! Meet me in the library at six tonight. If you don't turn up then I'll do the whole thing myself and you'll get nothing. Then you'll have to wave bye bye to the Quidditch Team!" Ariella told him strictly.

She then flounced off to the castle leaving Lucas looking gob smacked. Lucas' best friend looked at him and laughed.

"Dude! You just got told by a Gryff!" Blake exclaimed.

Lucas scowled at Blake and walked off towards the castle. He would never let the stupid little Gryffindor speak to him like she did. She'd rue the day that she ever decided to speak to _him _like that. Did she honestly not know who he was?

* * *

_Please review!_


	3. Chapter 3 The Conflict Begins

_**A/N:**_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own anything that you recognise. I only own the characters, items and locations that you don't recognise._

_**Summary:**__ When shy and intelligent Ariella Potter and Quidditch hotshot Lucas Malfoy get paired together for a school project, Ariella knows that she shouldn't feel anything but hatred towards him. So why does she feel attracted to him? And what will Ariella do when Lucas returns her affections? Will they ever break free from their cliques and parents' rivalry so they can be together?_

_Right I need you to read this review. It's one of the nicest reviews I've ever gotten and people should pay attention to the last couple of paragraphs and take note because I had 60 people read the last chapter but I only recieved 2 reviews._

draco and ginny being put together in a relationship is a nice idea, but a bit cliche.

the reason i put this story as one of my favourites is because it is. i like what youve done here - youve totally discarded the idea of draco/ginny, and gone with their offspring. youve made them blood ememies, but lovers.

ive noted how you describe the characters ariella and lucas - they're exact replicas of their parents when they were younger.

this really doesnt sound like me - im more into criticism, or constructive critism, but i think your story is perfect the way it is - its strong, and the complexity of the characters develop throughout the chapters.

keep up the hard work!!

i was so excited when i discovered that you had posted again, cause now the story continues!

and as for the other readers - come on guys! if you read it, then review it! it only takes 3 seconds to say 'it was great' or 'it sucked.'

before i never used to review, but when i wrote my own fanfic, i only got 3 reviews, and that is so unfair because you dont really understand what the audience think - did you really captivate them or not? was the story so horrible that it wasnt worth a review?

this is an awesome story - and if you put your mind to it, its quite clear to see. 'glitterfairyshells' deserves more reviews - her story is excellent. and if you keep reading it without reviewing, then its best if you didnt even read it to start off it.

_**Reviews:**_

_**darkwhiterose - **__Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm glad you like it._

_**nadia the demented one - **__Thanks for reading and for your amazing review. As I said it's one of the nicest reviews I have ever gotten._

_Now onto our feature presentation. Here's Chapter Three! All I ask of you is to enjoy and please leave a review at the end of the chapter.

* * *

_

Chapter Three – The Conflict Begins.

At six that evening, Ariella walked into the library and quickly scanned the room for Lucas. When she didn't see him, Ariella sat down at the nearest table and pulled out her book. She started to read quietly until she was interrupted.

"What have you b – Oh Dessy hi. I thought you were someone else," Ariella said to the person.

"Obviously. Who are you waiting for Ari?" Dessy asked.

"Lucas. We got partnered in Muggle Studies for a stupid dumb project. Like I'd ever want to work with Malfoy!" Ariella replied.

Dessy sat down and Ariella surveyed her cousin. She was the same age as Ember and the two girls were quite close. They had the same classes together and were even born within a couple of months of each other. Dessy had waist long, dark brown hair that she thought was annoyingly straight. She also had green eyes and had an athlete's body. Dessy stood at five foot, two inches tall, which meant that she made Ariella feel tall.

"When was he supposed to meet you?" Dessy asked.

"Six. Trust him to be late. When we make plans I expect him adhere to them!" Ariella exclaimed.

Dessy looked at her cousin feeling rather confused then said, "Ad what?"

"Adhere. It means stick to them. Honestly Dessy don't you know anything? You are supposed to be Hermione Granger's daughter after all."

Dessy looked down at the floor and wiped her eyes for she had started to cry at the mention of her mother's name. Ariella noticed her mistake and gasped.

"Oh I'm so sorry. I didn't realise. Its just dad lets us talk about her at home."

"Leave it Ari. You're the one with a mother so you don't realise that other people don't have them. Oh and by the way I'm not the one who read a dictionary when she was eight because she was bored!"

Dessy then stood up and stalked out of the library. Ariella sighed and watched her cousin walk out of the library. She really hadn't meant to mention Dessy's mother. The fact that Dessy never knew her still upset her whenever her mother's name was mentioned. Once Dessy had disappeared Ariella looked back down at her book and continued to read. After a few more minutes of reading, Ariella was once again interrupted. This time it was by a male.

"_Hogwarts: A History_? Seriously Potter, you need to find some new reading material," the voice said to her.

Ariella looked up and scowled at the person standing in front of her.

"Whatever. You're late! Sit down otherwise this will never get done Malfoy," Ariella retorted.

Lucas sat down and watched as Ariella put her book back into her bag. Ariella then got some parchment and a quill out and started to write.

"Okay then. I think we should cover computers, mobile telephones, televisions, washing machines and CDs," Ariella told Lucas as she wrote.

Lucas looked at her in a state of confusion, which she noticed.

"What?" she asked.

"What are those?" he replied.

Ariella sighed then started to explain what each of the items were.

"A computer is something that Muggles use to type on and can access the Internet and before you ask the Internet is something where Muggles can find information. A mobile telephone is a telephone that Muggles take with them wherever they go and other Muggles can telephone someone whenever they want to, a television is something that Muggles use for entertainment. They watch things on it. It's kind of like one of our photographs except sound comes out as well. A washing machine is a device that Muggles use to clean their clothes and a CD is a disc that holds music on it. Muggles put the CD into a stereo and it plays the music."

Lucas nodded along but still didn't understand what the items were. Ariella saw Lucas' face and frowned.

"It may seem complicated but once you've read about them you'll understand more about it. Why don't you do washing machines and CDs and I'll do the other three."

"I don't want to do anything! I've told you before, you can do the work and I'll get the O!" Lucas sneered.

"And I've told you! You either help me do this or you can wave good bye to the Quidditch team!" Ariella replied.

They had now begun to raise their voices, which was obviously against the library rules. The librarian looked at Lucas and Ariella then shushed them. Lucas shrugged his shoulders and glared at Ariella.

"Why are you being so nice? We're supposed to hate each other! I AM NOT DOING THIS PROJECT!"

"Since when have I been nice to you? I don't want to be seen with you let alone be nice to you!"

By now the librarian had stalked over to where they were sitting and glared at the fighting teenagers.

"OUT! If you can't keep your voices down then go elsewhere!" she told them strictly.

Ariella started to gather her things together and glared at a now smirking Lucas. She then looked at the librarian who pointed to the door to show them that they weren't welcome in the library until they had learnt to control their tempers when they were around each other. Lucas smirked at Ariella then walked out of the library. Ariella didn't bother to put her things into her bag instead she picked them up and followed Lucas. Once they were outside the library Ariella quickly shoved her things into her school bag then looked at Lucas while her hands were on her hips.

"Now look what you've done!" she shouted.

"Me? What did I do? I did nothing!" Lucas replied.

"I'm probably banned from the library now! And it's all your fault! I hate you!"

Lucas yawned while he looked at Ariella having her tantrum. He would absolutely die if someone walked past and saw him with her. At the moment she looked as though she was sixteen months old not sixteen years old. He felt rather embarrassed to be with her.

"I know you hate me but could you refrain from having a tantrum where everyone can see you. It is rather embarrassing you know," Lucas told her.

Ariella glared at him then walked off towards Gryffindor Tower. Lucas sighed and watched her disappear then muttered to himself.

"Stupid little Gryffs."

The next day in Muggle studies Ariella and Lucas kept glaring at each other, which didn't go unnoticed by their teacher. At the end of the lesson both of them was told to stay behind. Once the class had emptied both teenagers walked slowly to the front of the class while shoving each other. Lucas pushed Ariella rather hard, which sent her flying across the room knocking chairs and tables over. The professor looked at them and sighed.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" she shouted at them.

Both Lucas and Ariella looked at their professor and looked down at the floor.

"What is going on with you? Ari you can speak first."

"He turned up at the library late after I specifically told him to be there at six and he said that he wasn't doing any of the work. Apparently he though that I would do it all so I told him that he was going to work or I was going to do it myself and get the grade," Ariella explained.

Lucas glared at her then looked straight at the professor with an innocent look on his face. He was quickly thinking of something to say so that he could pin the blame on that blasted Potter girl.

"Well she called me arrogant. In fact she said and I quote, 'you are the most arrogant person I have ever met in my life'. Now I think that that could border on bullying but I won't take it any further. Then when I turned up to the library she wouldn't even listen to the reason why I was late in the first place. And I don't recall my saying that I wouldn't do any of the work. In fact I said that I would do three of the technologies and she could do the other two."

Ariella glared at him and saw that he was smirking to himself. He really did infuriate her.

"That's a lie and you know it! Typical, just typical, of course you would pin the blame on me. You would do anything to get yourself out of trouble," Ariella told him.

Their professor looked at them and sighed again. Clearly they weren't going to forget their differences and work together like she had hoped.

"Stop it both of you! You must learn to get along with each other. If I hear otherwise then points will be deducted and detentions given. All I want is for the both of you to finish this project without any arguments, once that is done you can go back to the way you were. Now off to the Great Hall please. You're missing lunch."

"Yes Professor," they both replied simultaneously.

Once they had walked out of the classroom, Professor Brown smiled to herself. She still thought that pairing Ariella with Lucas was the greatest idea she had ever had. Maybe they could forget why they hate each other and learn to get along with each other. Everything she had witnessed in her class was probably sexual tension anyway.

Meanwhile, down in the Great Hall both Lucas and Ariella were sat at their house tables eating lunch with their friends. Ariella was telling Dawn everything that happened in the classroom while Lucas was telling Blake some new tactics that he had thought up for Quidditch. As Lucas was telling Blake the new tactics Blake nudged him in the rib and nodded towards the doors. Lucas looked up and saw that his sister was flirting with a Slytherin. He really didn't like her flirting with other guys. Lucas abandoned his lunch and stalked to where his sister was stood. At the Gryffindor table Dawn nudged Ariella and nodded towards Lucas.

"Looks like he's giving that poor boy what for. He was flirting with his sister," Dawn told Ariella.

"Well it's her own fault really. She shouldn't flip her hair over the shoulder and flirt with them."

Dawn laughed softly then carried on eating her lunch. Ariella however abandoned her lunch and watched Lucas talking with the boy. He really was going for it; he looked like he wasn't at all impressed. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the boy stalked away grumpily and Lucas looked at his sister. She said something to him then walked over to the Slytherin table. Lucas followed her and reclaimed his seat next to Blake. Lucas started to talk to him but he wasn't listening. Instead he was staring at the boy and Lucas' sister. Lucas stopped talking and hit him.

"Dude, what's up with you? Why are you glaring at him and why the hell are you staring at my sister?"

"Um… Well… Because she's your sister and him flirting with her was wrong!"

Lucas nodded slowly but didn't believe a word that he had just said. Khadesia noticed that Ariella was still looking at Lucas so she walked quickly to the table Ariella was sat at. Once she was stood behind Ariella, Khadesia tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention.

"Potter, a word please."

Ariella nodded slowly and followed Khadesia out of the Great Hall. As usual Alyssa was following Khadesia. Once they were outside Khadesia glared at Ariella.

"Why were you staring at him? All he ever does is talk about you in the common room. Of course it's always how much he hates you and what new names he's thought up for you. I think the newest one was the nosy little cow," Khadesia told her softly.

Ariella glared at Khadesia then said, "You telling me this won't hurt me. As I've told you before, I want nothing apart from an O out of this project. Have you finished telling me what he says about me?"

"Yes but I'm warning you to stay away from him. He's mine!"

"Oh don't worry I will. I don't want to be associated with the likes of Malfoy."

Ariella then stalked back into the Great Hall leaving Khadesia looking at Alyssa in the Entrance Hall.

* * *

_Please review._


	4. Chapter 4 A Warning

_**A/N:**_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own anything that you recognise. I only own the characters, items and locations that you don't recognise._

_**Summary:**__ When shy and intelligent Ariella Potter and Quidditch hotshot Lucas Malfoy get paired together for a school project, Ariella knows that she shouldn't feel anything but hatred towards him. So why does she feel attracted to him? And what will Ariella do when Lucas returns her affections? Will they ever break free from their cliques and parents' rivalry so they can be together?_

_Okay the review number went up by three! Yay me! But I still want new reviews. So remember to push that button!_

_**Reviews:**_

_**nadia the demented one - **__Thanks for reading and reviewing. Thank you for the praise! It makes me smile when I see good reviews!_

_**elleminnowpee - **__Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm glad that you like it._

_**angel-muppet - **__Thanks for reading and reviewing. Thanks! I hope that you continue to like it._

_**Secret word - **__Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm glad you liked it._

_**darkwhiterose - **__Thanks for reading and reviewing. I am updating now!_

_Now onto our feature presentation. Here's Chapter Four! All I ask of you is to enjoy and please leave a review at the end of the chapter.

* * *

_

**Chapter Four – A Warning.**

The next day, a tall man that had jet-black hair with a few grey hairs scattered throughout it and sparkling emerald green eyes, he also had a stubbly beard as a result of him not having the time to shave that morning and looked a little like Ariella walked briskly through the halls of Hogwarts. When he found the office that he was looking for, the man didn't even bother to knock; he simply walked straight into the office. Once he was inside and the door had been shut, the man looked at the professor sat behind the desk. The professor looked at him and smiled.

"I wondered when you would find out Harry. Who told you?"

"My daughter owled me last night. I was not very impressed when I read what she had to say."

The professor looked at the man named Harry rather confused then asked, "Ari?"

Harry shook his head at the pure ignorance of the professor and laughed.

"Ember and her name is Ariella. I would prefer you to call her by her given name. I don't know why anyone would want to shorten their name when they have a perfectly good one already."

"Why would Ember tell you?"

"Because she knew that I would not be happy with this pairing. I don't think you should carry on with it. Please for my daughter's sake partner her with someone else."

"No why should I? What has Lucas Malfoy ever done to you?"

"It's not him. It's more of what his father did. Draco Malfoy tried to kill me, I swore when my children were born that they would have nothing to do with that family. If Malfoy finds out that my daughter is partnered with his son then he'll do something to her. I can't bear it if anything were to happen to her. My wife would kill me!"

"Harry, I'm sorry but it's happened. This is the way the project is happening and if it were to make you any happier then you should know that they hate each other. They can't bear to look at each other when they're together and whenever they are in this class they constantly glare at each other. I'm half expecting a duel to happen. And just for the record, Ginny would not kill you. She'd shout at you and ignore you but she would never kill you. She loves you too much."

"I'm still not happy with this idea. What if she were to befriend him? What example would it be to Felicity? I see that I'm going to have to fix this myself."

"If that happens then so be it. It wouldn't be the end of the world. After all this school is trying to promote house unity and as for setting an example for Felicity then I think that it would be a good example. It would show her not to hate someone because they happen to be in a rival house. Harry this is something that you are going to have to deal with."

Harry nodded slowly then walked out of the room because he knew that everything he had just been told was right. He couldn't influence his children to hate someone, as they would resent him for doing so. He still didn't like the fact that Ariella was working with Lucas but he knew that there was nothing he could do about it. The only thing he could do was to warn Ariella about the boy then ask someone close to her to keep an eye on her whenever she was around him. Once he had shut the office door behind him, Harry went off in search of his daughters.

A few minutes later, Harry reached his destination of Gryffindor Tower; of course he had had to ask a couple of Gryffindors along the way if they had seen either of his daughters. He paced up and down outside the portrait hole for a few minutes while he waited for a random Gryffindor to come along so he could ask them to go and fetch his daughters. After a few more minutes of waiting a Gryffindor first year walked along the corridor and looked at the adult in front of her. Harry smiled at her and beckoned for her to walk towards him.

"Hey, could you go and get Ariella Potter please. If you can't find her can you get Ember Potter for me?" Harry asked politely.

The first year squeaked and nodded enthusiastically before giving the password to the portrait and disappearing inside. After a few minutes Ariella came outside and looked at Harry feeling rather confused as to why he was at her school.

"Dad, why are you here? Shouldn't you be at home with mum and Fliss?" Ariella asked.

"Felicity Ariella and I came here to see you. I heard about your project," Harry replied.

Ariella looked down at the floor and frowned then said, "Oh."

"Yes I should think that your answer would be an oh too. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it isn't important. I'm working with him because I have to and not because I want to. As soon as I have my O then I'll forget that I ever worked with him. Nothing has changed between us, we still hate each other and we both hate the fact that we were paired together. You really have nothing to worry about dad, I hate him with every bone in my body!"

Harry smiled at Ariella and hugged her. When he had broken away he held her by the shoulders and looked at her.

"Just promise me that you'll work with him in public places. Places like the library or somewhere where someone can see you. I don't trust him at all and if his father were to find out then I don't want to think what might happen to you. He still hates the fact that he didn't kill me in the war and I killed his master. Please Ariella promise me."

Ariella looked at Harry feeling confused once again and sighed.

"Dad, I don't know what you mean. You're not making any sense whatsoever and I'm the smart kid."

"I know, I know. You take after your aunt, bless her soul. Ariella promise me that you won't go anywhere alone with this boy."

"Okay dad. I Ariella Grace Potter promise my dad, the oh so great Harry Potter not to go anywhere alone with Lucas Malfoy and while we're on the subject of Aunt Hermione, I upset Dessy because I mentioned her name. What do I do dad? I feel so mean for doing that to her."

"She'll be fine. Say you're sorry and you didn't mean to and if you have to blame it on me for letting you speak about her. Ariella you have to realise that both Dessy and Uncle Ron are still hurting. Ron because she was the love of his life and they didn't have much time together before Hermione died, they were planning to get married once Dessy was born but of course that didn't happen and Dessy because she never knew her mother. Why do you think Ron never married? He couldn't let go of Hermione."

"But isn't he seeing Lavender now?" Ariella asked.

"Yes but just because he's doing that it doesn't mean that he'll marry her. He knows how Hermione felt about Lavender at school and he knows how your mum and myself feels about her now and besides he likes being a single parent. He likes the fact that he doesn't have to share Dessy with anyone."

Ariella nodded and hugged her father. She then kissed his cheek and giggled at him before pulling away and walking towards the portrait.

"Ariella can you get Ember for me?"

"Sure."

Ariella then walked back inside and fetched her sister who slowly walked outside the tower.

"You got my letter then," Ember stated when she saw Harry waiting for her.

"Yes and I have warned your sister but you know how stubborn she is. She likes to see the good in everyone. Can you keep an eye on her while she's with Lucas please? I'm not asking you to follow her everywhere all I'm simply asking is if you see her in the same room as you with that boy then make sure she doesn't go anywhere alone with him."

Ember nodded then waved goodbye to Harry before walking back inside the tower. Harry sighed at the thought of Ariella going somewhere alone with Lucas and shuddered at the thought of what could happen to her, he then walked slowly out of the castle and out of the gates so he could apparate back to the house he lived in with Ginny and his daughters.

Later that day, Ariella was completing some homework that she had left in the library when Dawn ran into the library. She looked around for Ariella and saw her working away at a table near the back. She walked briskly over to her and sat down. When Ariella didn't look up Dawn coughed to get her attention. Ariella sighed and put her quill down and looked up at Dawn.

"Yes?" Ariella asked.

"I know that you don't like to be disturbed when you do your homework but this is important!" Dawn replied.

"Well what is it then?"

"Lucas' sister has just been injured in the Slytherin Quidditch practise! She's unconscious but they've taken her to the hospital wing. I saw them and Lucas looks quite worried!" Dawn explained excitedly.

"Oh Merlin! I have to go and see if he's alright!" Ariella exclaimed.

Dawn looked at Ariella bewildered and said, "Why are you worrying about him? This is great news for you because it means you can do loads of the project on your own!"

"Because having a sibling fall off a broom and be unconscious isn't nice! Besides this could be the perfect time to show him that Potters aren't selfish like Malfoys!"

Dawn nodded and watched as Ariella quickly stuffed everything on the table into her bag and ran out of the library. Ariella ran through the halls of Hogwarts until she reached the hospital wing. Lucas was sat on the floor outside the door on his own with his head in his hands. Ariella walked slowly over to him and sat down on the floor. Lucas didn't even notice that someone was sat next to him.

"I just heard. What happened?" Ariella asked quietly.

Lucas looked at her and sniffed. It was obvious that he had been shedding some tears over the whole incident.

"Why do you care? Why should I tell you what happened?" Lucas replied in his usual Slytherin manner.

"Because I know what it feels like. When I was nine Ember fell off a broom. It probably wasn't like your sister's accident but it was still scary. We had to take her to St. Mungo's and mum was really angry with dad for ages afterwards even though Ember was okay. We may hate each other but I still care about you. No one deserves anything like this to happen to them."

Lucas sighed and wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his green Slytherin Quidditch uniform. He then looked at Ariella and smiled at her. It was probably the first genuine smile she had ever seen out of him.

"We were playing a practise game and I was looking for the snitch as usual. After we played for a few minutes I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw a bludger heading straight for her. I shouted to her to move but it was too late, the bludger hit her and she fell off her broom. When I saw that I tried to catch her but she landed onto the grass before I got to where she was falling. It happened so fast and now she's unconscious. I don't know what to do! What do I do Ari?" Lucas explained.

Ariella looked at Lucas and smiled then said, "You said my name. You didn't call me Potter and before that you smiled at me. It wasn't a smirk like usual, it was a real smile."

"Yeah I suppose I did. So what do I do?"

"Well, I suppose you wait until someone tells you what's wrong with your sister then you'll have to owl your parents to tell them. They deserve to know what happened. Do you want me to wait with you?"

"Please. I'm sure you have better things to do though instead of sitting here on the cold floor with your enemy."

Ariella thought of the homework she had to do and decided that keeping Lucas more company was more important than homework after all she could do the homework later that evening. She then thought of her father and how angry he would be if she went against her promise but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"It's okay. I can stay here with you, it's better than Charms homework anyway and besides I can do that later," Ariella replied.

Lucas put his hand on Ariella's shoulder and looked at her.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Half an hour later, the healer came out of the hospital wing and found Lucas laughing at something that Ariella had just said. Lucas saw the healer and stood up to face her.

"She has concussion and some broken ribs. I healed the ribs but I can't do anything for the concussion until she wakes up. I think you had best go to your dormitory and get some sleep because I don't think she'll wake up until tomorrow. You are of no use being here at the moment Mr. Malfoy," the healer explained.

Lucas nodded and looked at Ariella. He held out his hand to her, which she took, and he pulled her up off the floor.

"Well I suppose I had best get some sleep. Thanks for staying with me Ari. I'll see you tomorrow after dinner in the library?" he said.

"You're welcome and yes in the library after dinner but I'm sure that we'll see each other before that during lessons," Ariella replied.

Lucas nodded then said good-bye to her before walking in the direction of the Slytherin common room. As he disappeared down the hallway, Ariella looked at him and felt butterflies flying around her stomach. She couldn't possibly be attracted to him. She wasn't allowed to feel such attraction to her supposed enemy but little did she know Lucas was thinking the same about her.

* * *

_Don't forget to leave me a review!_


	5. Chapter 5 A Little Bit Of Attraction

_**A/N:**_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own anything that you recognise. I only own the characters, items and locations that you don't recognise._

_**Summary:**__ When shy and intelligent Ariella Potter and Quidditch hotshot Lucas Malfoy get paired together for a school project, Ariella knows that she shouldn't feel anything but hatred towards him. So why does she feel attracted to him? And what will Ariella do when Lucas returns her affections? Will they ever break free from their cliques and parents' rivalry so they can be together?_

_Don't forget to review! I'm giving you 2 chapters because I'm bored and excited because I'm seeing Pirates 3 in less than 48 hours!_

_Now onto our feature presentation. Here's Chapter Five! All I ask of you is to enjoy and please leave a review at the end of the chapter.

* * *

_

**Chapter Five – A Little Bit Of Attraction.**

All through their classes the next day, Lucas and Ariella kept looking at each other when they thought that the other person wasn't looking. Of course they did catch each other from time to time and whenever they did the other would blush and look down at the empty piece of parchment that lay before them. Ariella couldn't believe that she was feeling attracted to Lucas, there was no way that her family would let anything happen between them and Lucas felt the same way. His father would go bananas if he found out that his only son liked a Potter. By the end of the day, both had decided that they would talk to each other about these feelings that were confusing them.

During Muggle Studies, Dawn noticed that Ariella wasn't her usual self. Ariella wasn't writing notes or listening intently to the professor instead she appeared to be in a daydream and was staring at Lucas. Dawn thought about the hours that Ariella had missing for the previous night and wondered what had happened when she went to see Lucas. Dawn sighed and nudged Ariella.

"Why are you staring at him?" Dawn asked.

"I don't know. I really don't know. He was nice to me yesterday, he actually called me Ari instead of Potter or the stupid little Gryff," Ariella replied.

"Ari, don't trust him. He's probably got an ulterior motive. Maybe his dad found out and he's told him to be nice to you so they can kidnap you or something?"

Ariella shook her head furiously.

"No. I don't think he's got an ulterior motive. No one was with him yesterday when I got there. He was sat on the floor crying. I think he needed a friend so I stayed with him. It was actually quite enjoyable, we laughed and we spoke properly without shouting at each other. He's been staring at me all day."

"Ari, I don't care what he was like yesterday. That was yesterday and today is now, he could have changed. Maybe he's gone back to hating you?"

"No. He hasn't glared at me once. It's as though he's been daydreaming and looked at me because he wanted to."

"I still don't trust him. When I know that he's changed and not an arrogant Slytherin anymore then I might be able to trust him."

Ariella nodded slowly and looked back at her teacher. As she listened her eyes slowly wondered over to Lucas and saw that he was once again looking at her. He smiled at her like he had done the day before and mouthed something to her. Ariella wasn't good at lip reading so she just looked at him in confusion. Lucas shrugged and wrote something down on a piece of parchment and threw it to her. He had thought that it had gone unnoticed by their professor but of course it hadn't.

"Do you wish to share something with the class Mr. Malfoy?" she asked.

"No professor," Lucas replied.

"Miss. Potter what are the contents of that note?"

"Insults professor. You know the usual," Ariella replied innocently.

The professor nodded and looked at Lucas.

"Please refrain from insulting your peers until you are out of the classroom."

"Yes professor."

Ariella smiled to herself and unfolded the note. She quickly read it through and smiled again. It said:

_Ari, I saw you talking to Dawn and you looked upset. Are you okay? Are we still okay for the library later? My sister still hasn't woken up, I checked at lunchtime, so I may have to end our studying in the library early. Is that okay? And I need to talk to you. It's important. Lucas._

Dawn noticed that she was smiling and looked at the note. She shrugged her shoulders at Ariella then continued to write the notes down. Ariella looked at Lucas and saw that he was looking at her again. Ariella nodded to say that everything was okay and Lucas smiled at her then turned round to look at the professor. About half an hour later, the class ended and Ariella walked slowly out of the class with Dawn. As they were stood outside the door, Lucas walked up behind them and whispered something to her before pushing past her.

"Move it Potter and don't expect me in the library later. My sister's ill and she's much more important than some stupid project."

Dawn looked at Ariella and said, "I told you. He's back to his usual self."

"Is he? And you don't think that that is a cover up? If you think he's back to his usual self then why did he send me this?"

Ariella handed the note to Dawn and watched her facial expression change from someone who thought she was right to an expression that someone would use when they were confused.

"What does he mean I need to talk to you?" Dawn asked.

"I don't know. Come on its dinner time then I have to go to the library," Ariella replied.

Dawn nodded and put her arm through Ariella's and together they walked off to the Great Hall. Ariella ate her dinner silently even though Dawn was talking to her while she ate hers. Ariella wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone, as she was worrying about what Lucas had to say. Everything that Dawn had said to her was now swimming around her mind. What if he had decided to go back to hating her? That was the last thing Ariella wanted because Lucas wasn't really as bad as her parents had been telling her. After what seemed an age, Ariella finished her dinner and said goodbye to Dawn before picking her things up and walking out of the Great Hall. She slowly walked through the corridors still thinking about the cryptic message that Lucas had written her. She entered the library and saw Lucas waiting at a table near the back of the room. She briskly walked to the table and stood in front of him.

"You're early?" she asked.

Lucas looked up at Ariella and smiled.

"Yeah. I finished dinner early and saw that you were still eating so I came here to wait for you."

Ariella nodded as she sat down.

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

"It's confusing. Ever since yesterday I've… Well… I've –"

Lucas didn't get to say what he wanted to say because a second year Slytherin interrupted him.

"Lucas, your sister is awake! I've been told to fetch you because she's asking for you!" the second year said excitedly.

Lucas grinned at Ariella and stood up. He was just about to follow the second year when he thought of something. He turned round and held out his hand to Ariella.

"Come with me Ari. Please, I'd like you to be there and I think you should meet my sister seeing as she's one of my best friends."

Ariella nodded slowly and picked up her bag. Together they followed the second year through the halls of Hogwarts until they reached the hospital wing. Ariella hadn't noticed but she was still holding Lucas' hand, something that Lucas thought fit. Her hand fit perfectly into his, by now he was quite sure that the feelings he had for her were a part of his destiny. They walked in to the hospital wing together and Lucas broke his hold on Ariella's hand as he rushed to his sister's bed.

"Boo! I was so worried about you! Are you okay? Do you know who I am?" he asked frantically.

Lucas' sister was sat up in her bed and laughed softly at her brother.

"Of course I know who you am! You're Eddie! Or was that Dan? No that's not it; I'm sure its David. No, that's not it maybe it's Mark. Yeah that's it, you're Mark!"

"She doesn't know who I am! Why doesn't she know who I am?" Lucas asked frantically.

Lucas' sister laughed once again and said, "You fell for it! I know you're Luke silly! I missed you!"

Lucas sat down on the bed and sighed a sigh of relief. He then kissed her cheek and quickly hugged her. His sister noticed Ariella stood by the door and glared at her.

"Why is _she _here? You hate her!"

Lucas looked at Ariella and held out his hand for her. Ariella took it and stood next to Lucas.

"Boo, this is Ari. Ari, this is Boo, my sister. Boo she's here because the entire Quidditch team left me alone in the hallway yesterday and somehow Ari found out about your accident and came to see if I was all right. She ended up staying with me until we found out what was wrong with you. Boo please take the time to get to know her; she isn't as bad as what we've been told. She cares about everyone even if she doesn't know the person she cares about."

Boo nodded slowly and smiled at Ariella.

"I'll kill that Quidditch team! How dare they abandon my brother! Thank you for keeping my stupid brother company yesterday."

"You're welcome," Ariella replied.

Ariella and Lucas stayed for a few hours talking to Boo before they were finally kicked out of the hospital wing. Ariella said good-bye to Boo and walked out of the door. She was waiting for Lucas to say good-bye and felt that he should be able to say it in private. Inside the hospital wing, Boo was giving Lucas the third degree.

"You like her!" Boo exclaimed.

"N… N… No I don't," Lucas stuttered.

Boo laughed at her brother and slapped him on the arm.

"Don't lie! You like her! You fancy her!"

"Okay maybe I do but…"

"But what?"

"What if she doesn't like me like that? What if I tell her and she only likes me as a friend?"

"She likes you! I can see it in her eyes! Just tell her!"

"Okay. I'll tell her… When I can work up the courage to tell her! I'll come visit tomorrow Boo okay?"

Boo nodded and waved to Lucas as he walked out of the door. Ariella smiled at him and held out her hand.

"Come on then you big oaf!"

"Hey! I'm not an oaf! I'm positively lovable! You're lovable too."

Ariella stopped walking, broke their hands and looked at Lucas.

"What do you mean?" she whispered.

"I mean that you're lovable. Ari, contrary to what you may think you're pretty. In fact you're more than pretty you are beautiful. Why are you looking like that?"

"Because… Because no one's ever told me that before. I'm sorry Lucas but I can't do this. I'll see you around," Ariella whispered.

She then turned around and ran in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. Lucas watched her disappear and ran a hand through his hair. Just when he thought that he was getting somewhere with her, he ruined it. He'd have a lot of work to do to get her to talk to him again.

The next day, all Ariella seemed to do was avoid Lucas. Whenever he sent her a note explaining about what he had said and saying sorry she would screw it up and put it in her bag ready to throw it away at the end of the class and whenever he tried to talk to her to explain his actions she would brush him off and walk away. He seemed to be trying everything but nothing ever worked, it seemed like she didn't want to and wasn't going to talk to him again. By the end of the day, Lucas had decided that he had had enough of her games and went to see Boo who was getting out of the hospital wing. When he entered the hospital wing, Lucas saw that Boo was sitting on her bed in her school uniform waiting for him.

"I thought that you would never get here! Where on earth have you been?" Boo asked.

"Sorry Boo. I was trying to make Ari talk to me. I said that she was beautiful and she ran away," Lucas replied glumly.

"You have it bad. What was the conversation and when was it?"

"Yesterday after we left here and as I came out of the hospital wing she held her hand out and said 'come on then you big oaf!' and I said that I wasn't an oaf. I was positively lovable and that she was too. She stopped walking and asked what I meant and I said that she was lovable and pretty then said that she was more than pretty and called her beautiful. Then she gave me this weird look and said that no one's ever told her that before then said that she couldn't do this anymore and ran off. I sent her notes during all of our classes we had together today and she threw them away and when I tried to talk to her she'd either brush me off or just walk away. I don't even know what she meant when she said she couldn't do this? Boo do you know what she meant?"

"Maybe she was scared. You were enemies then you became friends and then all of a sudden it was like you were her boyfriend. Girls take time to adjust to things, you can't rush her Luke."

"Boo you have no idea how much I like her! I like her more than any other girlfriend I've ever had. I never knew that she could be so caring and nice about people. I always thought that what dad told us about the Potters was true. That they didn't care about anyone apart from themselves."

"Maybe she's not a chip off the old block. Just because someone's parents only care about themselves then it doesn't mean that their children will end up like them. She doesn't even look like her mother," Boo told Lucas.

"How do you know what Ari's mother looks like?" Lucas asked.

"She was there when Ari and her sister got on the train in September. Her father wasn't there though. Another girl was there too. She looked quite young as well. Maybe it's her younger sister?"

"She's never told me about a younger sister. I'll ask her when she talks to me again. If she ever talks to me again."

Boo sighed and looked at Lucas. He really did look depressed at the new developments in his and Ariella's relationship. She wondered if she could fix it for her brother. Would Ariella even talk to her? Boo smiled at Lucas and stood up.

"Can you take my things back to the common room? I have to go in the library and get some books that will help me catch up with the schoolwork I've missed while I was in there."

Lucas nodded and walked his sister to the door of the library. Once they were outside Lucas looked at Boo and smiled.

"Are you sure that you don't want me to wait for you?" he asked.

"No. I'll be fine," Boo replied.

Lucas nodded slowly and walked away as Boo entered the library. She quickly looked around and spotted Ariella working on her own at a table near the door. She quickly walked over to her and sat down.

"Hi."

Ariella looked up and sighed when she saw whom it was.

"Has he sent you?" Ariella asked.

"No. I came of my own accord. He's just been pouring his heart out to me. Ari, you have to listen to me. I may not know you and because of that I don't really trust you but Luke is miserable! He doesn't regret saying those things to you because they're true but he wishes that he hadn't have said it so soon. Please forgive him!" Boo explained.

"I can't forgive him. Those things he said were nice. I won't deny that but it was a little too soon. It scared me. One minute we were enemies then we were friend and all of a sudden it seemed as though he was my boyfriend. Boo answer just one question for me."

"Of course."

"Does he see me as his next girlfriend?"

Boo sighed and looked at Ariella.

"I'm not denying that but he thinks of you highly! He thinks that you're the most caring and nice person he knows and he really does like you. He told me that he likes you more than any other girlfriend that he's had. He can't stop thinking about you and you make his eyes light up whenever he mentions your name or even looks at you. I saw that yesterday. Now my brother may be dumb sometimes but he has a heart of gold and he wouldn't hurt you intentionally. He's really cut up about this. Please just talk to him about it. Just make him see that you don't hate him!"

Ariella nodded slowly and smiled at Boo.

"Thanks," she told her.

"You're welcome and not a word of this to Luke. He thinks I'm in here getting books to help me catch up on my schoolwork when I don't even know what lessons I've missed and if I have any homework!"

Ariella laughed softly then said, "If you need any help with catching up then I'm always here and I'll help you as best as I can."

"Thank you Ari. I really hope you and Luke patch things up because you do make a cute couple."

Boo waved good-bye to Ari as she left the library and as she walked back to the Slytherin common room she though up an excuse to tell Lucas as to why she didn't get any books.

* * *

_Please review._


	6. Chapter 6 Another Warning

_**A/N:**_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own anything that you recognise. I only own the characters, items and locations that you don't recognise._

_**Summary:**__ When shy and intelligent Ariella Potter and Quidditch hotshot Lucas Malfoy get paired together for a school project, Ariella knows that she shouldn't feel anything but hatred towards him. So why does she feel attracted to him? And what will Ariella do when Lucas returns her affections? Will they ever break free from their cliques and parents' rivalry so they can be together?_

_3 chapters today because I'm bored and in a lot of pain. By the way Pirates 3 was great! If you haven't seen it yet go and see it! And stay for the bonus scene at the end of the credits._

_**Reviews -**_

_**kisseswithluv x - **__Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm glad you think it's cute._

_**Secret world - **__Thanks for reading and reviewing._

_**designergurl - **__Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm glad you like it._

_**angel-muppet - **__Thanks for reading and reviewing. It was cute wasn't it._

_**nadia the demented one - **__Thanks for reading and reviewing. There is a complication. Watch out for it!_

_**lemonwedges4 - **__Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm glad you like it. No Boo isn't her real name. You'll find out her real name and how she got the nickname Boo later on in the fic. I think it's coming up soon!_

* * *

**Chapter Six – Another Warning.**

The next day, Ariella and Lucas met up in the library after a lot of persuasion on Boo's part. Lucas was sure that he'd messed everything up with Ariella and Ariella was sure that Lucas didn't like her anymore. They sat down at a table and looked at each other. Lucas was the first to smile and as he did so he marveled at Ariella's beauty. Ariella noticed that he was staring at her and didn't know how to respond. Instead she just watched him stare at her. After a few minutes Lucas coughed to get her attention and began to talk.

"So. I take it Boo spoke to you yesterday?" he said slowly.

"Yes. How do you know?" Ariella replied.

"She told me last night. She was trying to make me meet you here and I wasn't having any of it so she told me that she came to speak to you."

Ariella nodded her head and smiled at him.

"Ari, I'm really glad that we got paired together. Even though it was at the beginning of the week and I've only known you a short time but you've shown me that there's more to life than Quidditch. I really needed that wake up call."

"I'm glad we got paired together too. I don't know why but when I'm around you I can be me. I don't have to live up to my surname or how intelligent I am. It's like I'm normal, like I'm just a girl."

Lucas laughed softly then said, "You even look like one too!"

Ariella smiled at his comment and sighed. Lucas noticed and grabbed hold of Ariella's hand.

"What's wrong?" he asked with worry etched all over his face.

"Nothing. This feels really awkward. Why does it feel that way?"

"I don't know. Ari I have to tell you something. It's quite personal too."

Ariella nodded and told him to continue.

"I well… Um… I kind of have feelings for you."

"I know that. Why else would you be my friend? You have to feel something for me to be my friend."

Lucas shook his head.

"No, not those kind of feelings. Feelings as in I like you feelings. Ari, I like you in a romantic way."

"Oh."

"Why does that sound like a bad oh? Oh no I did the wrong thing in telling you!" Lucas fretted.

"Lucas, calm down. It's not a bad oh. It was a good oh. Lucas I have to tell you something. Something that I've never told anyone before."

"Okay."

"I have feelings for you too. I hated you at the beginning of the week and now all of a sudden I have feelings for you. It's confused me Lucas."

"It's confused me as well," Lucas replied.

Lucas and Ariella kept on talking and though that they were alone so they kept holding each others hands but what they didn't know was that Ember had walked into the library and seen them holding hands. Ember wasn't happy at all because Ariella had broken the promise that she had given to Harry. Ember sat down at a table near by and listened to their conversation.

"Ari, tell me about your family," Lucas said.

"Okay. Well you know who my parents are. The famous Harry and Ginny Potter. Sometimes it's not very nice having famous parents but we didn't know that they were famous until we were in Diagon Alley when I was 5 and some reporters took out picture. Ember asked why they were taking the pictures and mum told us that she and dad were famous. Then there's Ember, my older sister. A typical Gryffindor. She's very popular unlike me and half the boys fawn over her. My younger sister Fliss is ten so she'll be here next year and you'll be able to meet her. She's lovely but very naïve. I have a cousin called Dessy and she's also in Gryffindor and her parents are my Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione. She lives with Ron though because Hermione died just after Dessy was born. She's never known her mother just like me, Ember and Fliss have never known our aunt. I have another five uncles but we don't see them much because they live all over the world. Bill lives in France with his wife, Charlie lives in Romania and his first love is dragons, Percy apparently got disowned so we never see him and Fred and George live in America where they're trying to set up some joke shops. They own Weasley Wizard Wheezes. Tell me about you about your family."

"Well my mum and dad are Pansy and Draco Malfoy but of course you know that. Then there's me and then my sister Boo. That's it. Both of my parents were only children so they didn't have any brothers or sisters."

"I never knew what your mum was called. What's Boo short for? She must have a name?" Ari replied.

"Brittney. I thought that Boo was cuter though so I called her that and it's stuck."

Ariella laughed and hugged Lucas.

"I have to go. Sometimes I really hate homework," she told him.

Lucas nodded and smiled then kissed her on her cheek and said good-bye. Ariella did the same and started to walk out of the library but was stopped by Ember.

"Ari, I saw that. If it carries on then I'll have to tell dad. He did ask me to keep an eye on you after all."

Ariella glared at Ember and pushed past her. She thought about her second warning on the way back to Gryffindor tower and by the time she reached her destination, Ariella had decided to ignore it.

* * *

_Remember to review!_


	7. Chapter 7 Khadesia's First Attack

_**A/N:**_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own anything that you recognise. I only own the characters, items and locations that you don't recognise._

_**Summary:**_

* * *

**Chapter Seven – Khadesia's First Attack.**

Ariella and Lucas had arranged to meet after dinner the next day in the library as usual. As Ariella was walking to her Charms class at ten in the morning she ran into Khadesia.

"Lucas gave me this to give to you this morning. If it's a love letter then you will have me to mess with. Do you understand?" Khadesia told her as she handed a piece of parchment to her.

"Of course."

Ariella started to walk away and opened the note to read it quickly. It said:

_Ari,_

_I can't meet you after dinner. I'll meet you in the library at lunchtime. Usual table._

_Lucas._

Ariella sighed then realised that if she didn't hurry she would be late for Charms. However she didn't see that Khadesia was smirking at her whilst thinking that everything had gone according to her plan. At lunchtime, Ariella waited in the library for Lucas but he didn't turn up. At first she had thought that something had come up but then she thought that he had written the letter to play a cruel joke on her. As she was leaving, she decided that she was angry with him and wouldn't talk to him to get her own back.

Lucas didn't know anything about the letter so he went to the library as usual after dinner. He like Ariella waited and waited for her and after he had waited for an hour he decided that he would go to Gryffindor Tower to see if she was there. He just hoped that someone would get her for him. Once he was outside the entrance to the Gryffindor common room Lucas found a first year and asked him to go and get Ariella. A few minutes later Ariella came out of the tower and glared at Lucas.

"Why didn't you meet me in the library?" Lucas asked.

"Why didn't _I _meet _you? _That's a bit rich isn't it? Why didn't you meet me? You said you would meet me at lunchtime in the letter!"

"What letter? I didn't send you a letter!"

This comment made Ariella angry.

"What do you mean what letter? You know what letter it was. The one that said that you couldn't meet me after dinner and that you would meet me at lunchtime instead!" Ariella shouted at him.

"Ari, I didn't write you a letter!" Lucas replied.

Ariella glared at him again and stalked off down the corridor. Lucas watched her go and decided that he wanted to get to the bottom of this situation so he began to chase her. He finally caught up with her in the Charms corridor and saw that she was on the floor crying. He slowly walked towards her and sat down next to her.

"Ari, please believe me. I didn't write you a letter. Let me see it."

Ariella gave Lucas the letter and watched him as he read it. Once he had finished, Lucas screwed it up into a ball and threw it away from them.

"I didn't write that. Who gave it to you?" he asked.

"Khadesia. She said that you gave it to her this morning and asked her to pass it on," Ariella replied.

Lucas frowned and took Ariella's hands in his own.

"She must have written it. She hates the idea of you and me being together. She's always believed that I'm meant to be with her. Do you believe me?"

Ariella nodded and watched as Lucas rubbed his thumb over her knuckles.

"Believe me Ari, Khadesia will get what's coming to her. She won't mess anymore once I've finished with her," Lucas stated.

When Lucas was back in the Slytherin common room the first thing he did was look for Khadesia. He had to do something to make her stop her somewhat strange hate campaign against him being with Ariella. As he looked around he saw that he couldn't see her although he did see Alyssa. He slowly walked over to her and glared at her.

"Where's Khadesia?" he asked Alyssa.

"I don't know. She was here earlier then mentioned something about your dormitory. Maybe she went up there," Alyssa replied.

As Lucas walked away he thought that maybe Alyssa had been sorted into the wrong house. She didn't come across as a typical Slytherin and would probably be better suited to Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. While he was thinking about house he thought about his position in the Slytherin house. Did he belong there? Maybe in earlier years he did as he was an arrogant, selfish and sly boy but now he thought that he been sorted there by mistake as well. By now he had reached the door of his dormitory. He cautiously opened then door and the first thing he saw was Khadesia laying on his bed with the covers over her. It didn't look as though she had anything on underneath the covers though. Khadesia saw him enter the room and smiled at him.

"I wondered when you would get here."

Lucas looked at the girl on his bed in disgust and picked up the pieces of clothing that had been littered everywhere. He dumped them on the bed and glared at her.

"Get out of my bed," he growled.

"Are you sure you don't want to join me?" Khadesia replied.

"Of course I don't want to join you. Khadesia I only have eyes for Ari. Now get out of my bed!" Lucas demanded.

"Okay then."

Khadesia went to sit up and Lucas saw that she nothing on. There wasn't a single piece of clothing on her body. He groaned and glared at her again.

"Wait! Put these on first. Then you can go and get dressed in the bathroom. I do not wish to see you completely naked."

Lucas handed Khadesia her underwear, which she quickly put on underneath the bed covers. Khadesia then got out of the bed and stood facing Lucas.

"Luke I know you want me. Why don't you just give into your want? Do you really think that Ariella Potter could satisfy your needs when I know full well that I can."

"Ari is the only girl I want. I don't want you Khadesia! Why would I want you when Ari is perfect for me?" Lucas replied.

"Oh so it's Khadesia now is it? What happened to Desia and even Desie? I remember when you used to call me those names and believe me Ariella Potter isn't what she's cracked up to be. You may think that she's little miss perfect but I know that she isn't. She'll just end up breaking your heart."

"What like you would do? Somehow I don't think Ari would go and sleep with someone else."

"I think that she would. There's a lot to learn about the Gryffs, they can be just as sly as us Slytherins. But I'm sure that you will learn that for yourself."

Lucas glared at Khadesia again and pushed her in the direction of the bathroom.

"Go and get changed. And don't you ever try to pull a stunt like you just did. Whether it's supposed letters from me to Ari or being naked in my bed. For the last time I do not like you in that way!" Lucas retorted.

Khadesia glared at Lucas at walked into the bathroom where she got changed quickly. When she re entered the dormitory she saw that Lucas had disappeared. She shrugged her shoulders and walked back down the stairs to the common room all the while thinking about a new way to break Ariella and Lucas up.

* * *

_Remember to review!_


	8. Chapter 8 The Parents Find Out

_**A/N:**_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own anything that you recognise. I only own the characters, items and locations that you don't recognise._

_**Summary:**_

* * *

**Chapter Eight – The Parents Find Out.**

The next day, Ariella and Lucas were walking down the hallway holding hands and completely oblivious to the looks that the other students were giving them after all it wasn't everyday that you saw a Slytherin holding hands with a Gryffindor when the two houses hated each other in reality. It seemed to be a weird dream that no one could wake up from. Unbeknownst to Ariella and Lucas two people had seen them together. Those two people were Dessy and Boo. Now although Boo was happy that her brother had finally found himself some happiness she wasn't sure that her father would be happy for him. She had to do something to save her own neck because if her father found out that she had known then he would come down on her like a tonne of bricks.

Boo quickly walked to the owlery and found some spare parchment and a quill in her pocket. She quickly scrawled a letter to her father that said:

_Father,_

_I think that you should know that Lucas has found himself a girlfriend. She is a very nice girl as I have had the pleasure of speaking with her and Lucas seems very happy with her. You are probably wondering why I am writing to tell you this as I hardly ever write to you but I think that you should know that you wouldn't approve of this relationship. You may be asking yourself how I know this and I know this because the girl is in Gryffindor._

_Oh and her name is Ariella Potter._

_Love,_

_Brittney._

Boo coaxed a school owl down from the rafters and attached the letter to its leg. As she was watching it fly away Ember walked into the owlery closely followed by Dessy. Boo looked up and saw that Ember was also clutching a letter.

"What are you doing in here Malfoy? Shouldn't you be flirting with your brother's best friend?" Ember sneered at her.

"I gave myself a day off today. He likes me but I don't like him. It's quite sad actually and besides I needed to owl my dad," Boo replied nicely.

Ember nodded and called upon the Potter's owl. She attached her letter to the leg of the tawny owl and then watched it fly away. Once it was out of sight Ember faced Dessy and smirked.

"That should have dad up here soon enough. Ari will rue the day she ever went against a promise."

Dessy nodded and followed Ember out of the owlery. Boo sighed to herself and suddenly wondered if she had done the right thing. Would her father come to the school shouting the odds or would he just send a howler? She would have to wait and see.

The next day at breakfast time, the usual flurry of owls entered the Great Hall and dropped letters and parcels off to their respective owners. Ariella checked to see if she had received an owl but she hadn't. She quickly looked over to the Slytherin table and saw the Malfoy's eagle owl land in front of Lucas holding a red envelope. Lucas groaned when he saw the envelope that was now shaking; he quickly relieved the owl of its letter and opened it. To no one's surprise Draco Malfoy's voice filled the hall.

"LUCAS MALFOY! WHAT IS THIS I HEAR OF? HAVE YOU GOT A GIRLFRIEND? A GRYFFINDOR GIRLFRIEND AT THAT AND WHAT'S EVEN WORSE IS THE FACT THAT SHE IS A POTTER! HOW DARE YOU THINK THAT YOU COULD GET AWAY WITH GOING OUT WITH ARIELLA POTTER! I WAS ABSOLUTELY _DISGUSTED _WHEN I HEARD ABOUT IT! YOU MUST NIP THIS IN THE BUD _IMMEDIATELY!_ I CANNOT HAVE MY ONLY SON AND HEIR TO THE MALFOY FORTUNE BEING SEEN WITH THAT GIRL! IF YOU DON'T NIP IT IN THE BUD THEN I SHALL!"

The howler then tore itself into tiny pieces and burnt. Lucas looked at Ariella sheepishly and smiled. Ariella returned the smile and couldn't help but wonder if what Draco had said was true. Would he actually come to the school and ruin their relationship? Only time would tell.

After lessons, Hogwarts' halls were once again found to be in the company of Harry Potter. He had received the letter that Ember had written to him and wasn't at all impressed with Ariella's newfound relationship. Before he knew it he found himself stood once again in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady. This time however Harry asked a third year to fetch his daughter for him. Ariella came out of the common room wondering what her father wanted now and sighed when she saw him glaring at her.

"How dare you," Harry growled.

"What?"

"How dare you do that to me. How could you do that to your mother? Do you realise that she is very upset at the moment. How could you think about going out with Lucas Malfoy? Did your promise to me mean nothing?"

"It wasn't my fault. It just happened. He isn't as bad as his father, please dad I'm the happiest I've been in a long time."

"When did it happen?" Harry asked.

"A couple of days ago. His sister fell of her broom in Quidditch practise and the rest of the team left him waiting for information on his own. He didn't know if she was alive and they left him so I kept him company and it progressed from there," Ariella replied calmly.

"Get rid of him! I don't want my daughter to be his girlfriend! Find yourself someone in Gryffindor!"

"NO!" Ariella shouted.

Harry didn't like her back chatting him so he shouted back.

"ARIELLA YOU WILL DO WHAT I SAY! YOU WILL NOT SEE HIM ANYMORE! IF I FIND OUT THAT YOU ARE SEEING HIM STILL THEN YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF BACK AT HOME BEFORE YOU CAN SAY QUIDDITCH!"

"WHAT ABOUT SCHOOL? I NEED TO SIT MY NEWTs!"

"YOU'LL GO TO BEAUXBATONS. I'LL ASK THE HEADMISTRESS IF SHE'LL GIVE YOU A PLACE! IF YOU REALLY WANT TO STAY HERE THEN I SUGGEST THAT YOU DUMP HIM AND REFUSE TO SEE OR SPEAK TO HIM!"

And with that, Harry turned on his heel and walked briskly through the corridors once again. Ariella watched him go and once he was out of sight she collapsed onto the ground and started to cry at what her father had just told her to do. There was no way that she could do that to herself and Lucas. The relationship really had gone too far now because Ariella was sure that she loved him. She was in a right pickle at the moment.

* * *

_Remember to review!_


	9. Chapter 9 The Friend's Find Out

_**A/N:**_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own anything that you recognise. I only own the characters, items and locations that you don't recognise._

_**Summary:**__ When shy and intelligent Ariella Potter and Quidditch hotshot Lucas Malfoy get paired together for a school project, Ariella knows that she shouldn't feel anything but hatred towards him. So why does she feel attracted to him? And what will Ariella do when Lucas returns her affections? Will they ever break free from their cliques and parents' rivalry so they can be together?_

_Another 3 chapters today because I'm bored and at home sick because I have some stupid sickness bug. Plus the review count is going down again isn't it? We need more reviews!!!!_

_**Reviews:**_

_**kisseswithluv x -**__ Thanks for reading and reviewing. Parents do suck sometimes especially if they're rivals._

_**Ember Riddle -**__ Thanks for reading and reviewing. I love this fic. It's one of my favourites. There's also a sequel that I'm currently writing and a treequel planned for this._

_**momosmileyfaces -**__ Thanks for reading and reviewing. He is stupid._

* * *

**Chapter Nine – The Friends Find Out.**

The next day, Ariella said to Dawn that she could go looking through her things for a spare piece of parchment. While Dawn was looking, she found a letter addressed to Ariella and knew that she shouldn't read it but felt that she needed to do so. Dawn sat down on Ariella's bed and opened the letter carefully. She then read and was shocked at what she saw. The letter said:

_Ari,_

_I know I have told you this before but I am glad that we were paired together. I have never met a girl quite like you before. You have so many different layers to you and each time we spend time together another layer peels away and I can see so much more of your personality. I know that we've said that we like each other and hold hands etc but we haven't kissed each other yet. You may be wondering why that hasn't happened and I am about to tell you._

_It's not because you repulse me, you do anything but repulse me. In fact you make my heart beat faster whenever I see you in a lesson or the hallway and whenever we talk to each other my heart beats even faster and feels like it will explode. When we hold hands however I get a completely different feeling, yes my heart feels like it is going to explode but at the same time I feel happy. __It's such a strange feeling; I've felt happiness before but not on a level as I do when we hold hands. __That level is so much different, it feels like nothing could ever go wrong in our lives as long as we have each other, it feels like you are the only girl in the universe and it even feels like I don't need anyone else apart from you._

_I am actually beginning to believe that I don't need anyone else apart from you. __I don't care about what my parents would say about us; at the end of the day I don't need them. __I need you and only you. And my reason for not kissing you yet is because I am waiting for that perfect moment. You know when you have to do something there and then because you're afraid that your heart would explode if you don't do it at that moment. It has to be perfect, it will be the perfect moment to kiss my perfect girl for the first time. I'm willing to wait forever as well. __I am not going to push you into anything; I like you far too much to ruin what we have by pushing you to do something you don't want to do. __Hopefully this letter will be the first of many and even as I sit here in Potions writing this I can't help but stare at the back of your head and marvel at how much I like your hair. __Please don't ever change your hair, as I fear it may break my heart. __I like you as you are and I will always like you as you are, don't change because you feel that you have to._

_Lucas._

Dawn crumpled the letter up and stared at the wall in a state of disbelief. She couldn't believe that her best friend was getting such letters from her supposed enemy. Was there anything between them? She could only hope that there wasn't. Suddenly the door opened and Ariella walked in. She caught sight of Dawn's closed fist and started to shake her head.

"You didn't read it did you?" Ariella asked.

"Of course I did. I wanted to know what he'd been saying to you and now I know that the letters you've been saying were insults were really love letters," Dawn replied.

"What does it matter to you? It's not you and him is it? It's him and me and I can do whatever I please with my life. Why read someone's personal mail? It's not something that one would go about doing as if it were a normal thing. You wouldn't dream of reading mail from my parents so why read it from someone I care about?"

"I needed to see what he was saying to you. You don't understand, if it were insults then I would have wanted to stand by you. Ari, it's against the rules! You're a Gryffindor and he's a Slytherin! You're smart and he's a Quidditch Player! You can't feel anything for him!"

"And you're not going to stand by me now because I want to stop all this silly behaviour with the clichés? I think you'll find it's too late to say that I can't feel anything for him because I do! I have feelings for him and he has feelings for me!"

"What makes you so sure that he has feelings for you?"

"I just know okay?"

And with that Ariella took the letter from Dawn's hand and stormed out of the dormitory slamming the door behind her. Dawn looked at the now closed door and sighed. She really didn't know what to do about her best friend and her feelings for someone that was completely against the rules.

The next day, Lucas and Ariella were sat in the library writing things down for their project when Blake saw them. He watched as they packed their things away and got up from the table. They walked out of the library together and as soon as they were outside Lucas laced his fingers through Ariella's and they walked down the hallway together. Blake had seen the whole thing and now knew that Ariella Potter was the reason why Lucas wasn't performing as well as he usually did on the Quidditch pitch during practices.

Later that day, Blake found Lucas and cornered him so he could talk about his new relationship. As he found himself being cornered, Lucas looked at Blake and saw that he wasn't laughing so there was no way that this was a joke. Blake glared at Lucas then launched into his tirade.

"I saw you with Potter! What on earth are thinking about when you're with her? You cannot be seen with her other than being forced to do project work with her! The whole relationship is wrong and don't you even dare say that there is no relationship because I saw you in the library! You were close in there and then as soon as you were out of everyone's view you laced your fingers through hers!"

"Firstly, her name is Ariella so don't use her second name as her first name! Secondly, what's it to you if I wish to be with her? Thirdly, she isn't harming you is she? And fourthly, the relationship isn't wrong, it's up to me who I go out with," Lucas replied.

Blake sighed then said, "Luke, you're a Quidditch player. She's interfering with your performance during practice. If we want that cup this year then we can't have our Seeker thinking about his Gryffindor girlfriend while he's playing!"

"You can't tell me what to do! I haven't had a go at you because of the flirting that you do with Boo have I?"

Blake shook his head.

"So don't tell who I can and can't go out with!"

Blake sighed then watched as Lucas pushed past him and walked away. Blake stood frozen to the spot for a few minutes then went off in search of Dawn. He knew that she would be able to help him split Lucas and Ariella up. About half an hour later, Blake found Dawn sat in the library on her own; he approached her and sat down next to her.

"Dawn is it?" he asked.

Dawn nodded her head and waited for Blake to continue.

"Did you know that your best friend is going out with my best friend?" Blake asked.

"Yes and I've already told her that it's completely wrong," Dawn replied.

"I've told Luke that too. Well what if we went to each other's best friends and told them all the faults that they have. That will split them up and return things around here back to normal."

"What do you mean?"

"You go to Lucas and tell him about Ariella's faults and I'll go to Ariella and tell her about Luke's faults! Once they know they won't be able to be near each other."

Dawn thought for a few seconds then said, "Let's do it!"

Blake smiled at her then got up and walked out of the library. Dawn picked her book up that she was reading and went off in search of Lucas. When she found him she dragged him into an unused classroom and sat him down in one of the chairs.

"I'm here to tell you about Ari," Dawn said sternly.

Lucas nodded his head and folded his arms.

"She has really bad habits and I think that you need to know them. Firstly, she cannot stand mess and even if you are talking to her she'll ignore what you are saying while she tidies up, secondly, she checks your homework constantly and even implies that you aren't smart enough to do it yourself, thirdly, she competes with her sister at everything, fourthly, she doesn't stop talking even when you ask her to shut up, fifthly, she always talks about her dead aunt and sixthly, she um… She cuts her toenails and then eats them!"

Lucas stopped himself from laughing at the last habit because it was obviously made up.

"I think I can deal with number one to five. However, I think number six is made up. If you really wanted me to believe number six then you shouldn't have hesitated and nothing that you tell me will ever put me off her. I'll have to learn that for myself if it is to happen which by the way I don't think will happen."

Dawn sighed and followed Lucas with her eyes as he walked out of the classroom laughing to himself. Meanwhile Blake was telling Ariella all about Lucas' secrets.

"He cuts his toenails and then eats them. Seriously he eats them I am not lying to you. He cannot stop talking about Quidditch and if you think that you are going to be the top girl in his life then you are very clearly mistaken. His sister is the one person he dotes on. A relationship with him never lasts for more than eight weeks and you will always come below Quidditch. He'll cancel a date with you if there's match he wants to watch."

Ariella laughed at the idiocy of Blake's comments then said, "If you thought that that was going to break us up then you are so wrong. I can live with things like that, now I have to go."

Ariella then walked off and left Blake looking as though he was as thick as two short planks in the Great Hall. Ariella ran through the hallways and quickly found Lucas who seemed to be looking for her. They stopped running and walked briskly towards each other then sat down on the floor with their backs against the wall.

"I just had a rather amusing conversation with Dawn Ari," Lucas told Ariella.

"Did you? Well I just had an amusing conversation with Blake. What did Dawn tell you?" Ariella replied.

"Well apparently she needed to tell me that you almost impossible to be with. She said that you can't stand mess and even if someone's talking to you then you'll ignore them while you tidy up, you check your friend's homework constantly, you compete with your sister constantly, you don't stop talking even when you've been told to shut up, you talk about your aunt all the time and she seems to think that you even cut your toenails and then eat them."

Ariella laughed and looked at Lucas.

"She's right up until the toenail one. You've managed to live with it so far so why is she telling you those things?"

"I don't know. What did Blake tell you?" Lucas asked.

"Well he said that you cut your toenails and eat them, you don't stop talking about Quidditch, Boo's the main girl in your life, a relationship with you never lasts for longer than eight weeks and Quidditch will come above me."

"Why are they saying these things? We pretty much already know that."

"Well Dawn found out about us. Maybe Blake did too and they planned to tell us about our faults. Has it worked? Did what Dawn said put you off me?" Ariella asked.

"Of course not. I told her that she was wasting her time telling me those things because I would find out myself. At least they know that we're for real and not using each other to pass the time. I really like you Ari," Lucas replied.

Ariella nodded then hugged Lucas. They then got up and walked down the corridor hand in hand. The next day, Blake had an owl from Lucas' father. Lucas watched Blake tuck the letter into his robes and then leave the table. Blake quickly walked out onto the grounds and sat against a tree while he read the letter. It said:

_Blake,_

_I want to know everything about this Ariella Potter girl that seems to have Lucas wrapped around her little finger. She can't be good for his performance on the Quidditch pitch and I need to know whether I should stop it or not._

_Draco Malfoy._

Blake got a quill and ink pot out of his pocket and turned the parchment over. He quickly wrote his reply on the back of it.

_Mr. Malfoy,_

_Well what can I say about Ariella? I don't like her at all, Lucas is always spending time with her and he doesn't concentrate on Quidditch. As you probably know she's one of Harry Potter's daughters, her mother is Ginny Potter and her aunt was Hermione Granger. Apparently she died just after Ariella's cousin was born. She's the smartest__ witch__ in our year and she doesn't have many friends. She's always seen with a girl named Dawn, never with anyone else. I think that's about it. That's all I know about her but if I find out more then I shall tell you._

_Blake._

Blake read the letter and made some changes. When he was satisfied with it Blake smirked to himself and then slowly made his way to the owlery.

* * *

_Remember to review!_


	10. Chapter 10 There's Not A Star

_**A/N:**_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own anything that you recognise. I only own the characters, items and locations that you don't recognise._

_**Summary:**_

* * *

**Chapter Ten – There's Not A Star In Heaven That We Can't Reach.**

Over the next few days, Ariella and Lucas started to study together in secret. Whenever their friends asked where they were going they always fobbed them off with an excuse. While they studied they spoke about anything and everything that came to their minds. During one of their studying sessions, they had both decided that whatever their friends and parents said to them didn't matter.

"Ari, I think we should just ignore them," Lucas said out of the blue.

Ariella looked up at Lucas and smiled.

"Me too. If they can't be happy for us then why should we tell them that we're together? They can deal with it," Ariella replied.

Lucas nodded then wrote a few more words on his bit of parchment. After a few moments, Lucas looked up again and looked at Ariella.

"Ari? Have you ever been flying?" he asked.

"On a broomstick?" Ariella replied.

Lucas nodded and watched as Ariella thought for a few moments.

"No I haven't. I refused to get on one when I was little and my dad tried to teach me. I don't think I got the broomstick flying and Quidditch genes."

"Will you go flying with me? Tonight?"

Ariella sighed and knew that if she didn't say yes then Lucas would keep asking her until she caved. She slowly nodded her head then wondered what she had let herself in for because she really didn't like heights. Later that evening, Lucas waited for Ariella in the Entrance Hall with his broomstick. When she arrived she saw the broom that Lucas was holding. She slowly walked over to him and smiled when she saw his eyes light up at the sight of her.

"A _Thunderbolt 360. _Nice."

"How do you know what it is?" Lucas asked.

"Dad got Ember one for her birthday. You won't go fast will you?" Ariella asked warily.

"Of course not and I promise that we won't go outside the Quidditch pitch either. We'll stay inside the stands," Lucas replied.

Ariella felt a bit better and smiled at Lucas. He held her hand then lead her out of the huge oak doors and onto the grounds of Hogwarts. Once they were inside the Quidditch pitch, Lucas sat on the broom and asked her to sit in front of him. Once she was sat down, Lucas slowly let the broom get higher into the sky. After a while he stopped the broom and just let them float in the air. Ariella surveyed her surroundings and saw a shooting star.

"Luke, make a wish!" she said.

"What?" Lucas replied.

"See that star? The shooting star? You have to make a wish when you see them? Have you never done it before?"

Lucas shook his head and watched as Ariella made her wish.

"Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight."

Ariella then mouthed something that Lucas couldn't make out and once she was done she looked at Lucas then smiled. Lucas looked back at her and took a deep breath.

"Ari, I have something to ask you," he said slowly.

"What's that Luke? You know you can tell me anything."

"I know. Okay here goes. Will you…"

"Will I what?" Ariella asked.

"Will you go to the Yule Ball with me?"

Ariella laughed softly at Lucas because it seemed as though he was going to ask her something that was more important than the Yule Ball.

"How do you know that I'm going to the ball?"

"Oh, I didn't think of that. Are you going?"

"Yes if I can get a date."

"So will you go with me?" Lucas asked.

"Of course silly!"

Lucas and Ariella smiled at each other then looked at the stars. After a few moments Ariella spoke again.

"Luke?"

"Yes?"

"I've just thought of something."

"What's that?" Lucas asked.

"It's almost as if there's not a star in heaven that we can't reach while we're up here. The stars look so close. It's like we could touch them if we reached out."

Lucas grinned at Ariella then said, "It's beautiful but not as beautiful as you."

"Thank you."

"Luke? You know we tell each other everything?"

"Yup."

"I have something to tell you. Something that I've never told anyone before."

Lucas looked at Ariella and smiled.

"You know you can tell me."

Ariella sighed then carried on, "Remember in Second Year when I beat you to the top of our year?"

"Yes."

"I cheated. I cheated on our potions exam. I'm sorry Lucas," Ariella said quietly.

"That's okay. It's in the past and all that matters now is our future," Lucas replied.

Ariella smiled at him then hugged him. Lucas looked down at her and kissed her cheek. Ariella blushed at the sudden contact then smiled when she looked into Lucas' eyes. Lucas moved his head closer to Ariella's and after what seemed like an age their lips connected. They sat on the broomstick gently kissing one another for a few moments. Once they had both pulled back in need of air, Lucas smiled at Ariella again.

"That was my first kiss," Ariella said quietly.

"Then I'm glad that you let me be your first kiss Ari. Come on it's getting cold now and the teachers will notice that someone is out here in a minute."

Lucas gently guided the broomstick back down to the ground and once they were off it, Lucas led Ariella by the hand and walked her back to Gryffindor Tower. Once she was inside, Dawn demanded to know everything but Ariella wasn't letting on. She saw the romantic side of her life as private and no one would ever know what happened outside apart from her and Lucas.

* * *

_Remember to review!_


	11. Chapter 11 An Argument

_**A/N:**_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own anything that you recognise. I only own the characters, items and locations that you don't recognise._

_**Summary:**_

* * *

**Chapter Eleven – An Argument.**

Over the next couple of days, Ariella and Lucas thought that nothing could break them up. They carried on studying together in secret and stealing quick kisses whenever they could. What they didn't know was that they would soon have an argument that would jeopardise their relationship. This argument took place in the library near the restricted section where they knew that they wouldn't be seen by anyone including Ember, Dessy and Khadesia.

"Ari, I think we should cut out CD's from the project. There isn't that much we can write about apart from Muggles use them to listen to music," Lucas told her quietly.

Ariella stopped what she was doing and looked at Lucas with an angry look on her face.

"We're not cutting them out otherwise we have find another type of technology on three days notice. That wouldn't work at all," Ariella replied feeling rather upset that Lucas had even suggested it in the first place.

"So we just write that Muggles use them to listen to music then do we? Ari that would make us lose marks because it would seem that we chose that as an easy option! Do you really want to lose marks and sacrifice our final grade because of some stupid mistake we made?"

"Of course not but we could into more detail about them. Like how they're made and so on. Lucas I know what I'm going on about. Maybe you don't because you have such a tiny brain that only thinks about Quidditch!"

That comment made Lucas angry. How dare she even think that he thought about Quidditch all the time?

"How dare you! I don't think about Quidditch all the time! I think about other things too you know!"

"What like sex? Don't look at me like that! I know what goes through the minds of boys!"

"That's going too far Ari! How can you even think that? Yes I may think about that but I don't all the time! Contrary to what you may think I seem to think about you more than I do other things but I can see that it's a mistake. Maybe we should have stayed enemies. Maybe you shouldn't have tried to be nice to me!" Lucas exclaimed.

Ariella sighed then looked at the book that was lying open on the desk in front of her. To Lucas it seemed as though she was ignoring him. He decided that he had had enough of her behaviour and walked out of the library, leaving her with the whole workload. Ariella watched him walk out then sighed again and decided to finish the project her way. It would be Lucas' fault he didn't get his credit for it. At the moment she didn't know why she had been nice to him in the first place.

Over the next day or so, Ariella and Lucas were both miserable. Ariella went back to the way she was before she met Lucas and concentrated on her schoolwork while Lucas concentrated on Quidditch and wouldn't even mention Ariella's name. This didn't go unnoticed by Blake and Dawn who knew that they needed to get them back together. Blake owled Dawn and asked her to meet him in the Great Hall so that they could talk about Ariella and Lucas. Dawn met Blake that evening and wasn't exactly thrilled to be in his company again. She thought that he was a very arrogant person just like Lucas had been before the project started.

"What's this about?" Dawn asked.

"Well is Ariella as depressed as Luke?" Blake replied.

"Of course she is. She snaps at anyone who goes near her and threatens to stop her working."

"So then we need to get them back together but how? I have no ideas at what to do. I can break people up but I can't put them back together again. I've never had to do that before," Blake told Dawn.

"Maybe we could act as messengers. You know you go to Ari and say that Lucas wants to meet her and I go to Lucas and say that Ari wants to meet him in the library. That way they have to talk about the argument they had and sort it out."

Blake smiled and nodded then said, "So we get them to meet each other in the library?"

"Yes. We find them now and say that they want to meet each other in the library now. Oh by the way, Ari's up in Gryffindor Tower. Get a first year to go in and get her."

"Okay. Luke's on the Quidditch pitch."

Dawn nodded and headed off in the direction of the Quidditch pitch. Once she was there she called Lucas down and told him the message that she had for him. Lucas' face lit up and he ran back to the castle immediately. Meanwhile Blake had given Ariella her message. Ariella had smiled and nodded politely before heading off towards the library. Once she was inside the library, Ariella headed towards the table that she and Lucas usually sat at and saw that Lucas was already waiting for her. Ariella sat down and looked at Lucas.

"So what did you want to meet me here for?" Ariella asked.

"Me? I got a message saying that you wanted to meet me here!" Lucas replied.

Ariella laughed when she realized what had gone on.

"We've been double crossed! Blake told me that you wanted to meet me here and I'm guessing that Dawn told you that I wanted to meet you here. Am I right?"

Lucas nodded slowly then laughed.

"Seems like two people want us to talk about the argument," Lucas said.

Ariella nodded then sighed.

"I'm sorry for saying those things to you Luke. I'm sorry for continuing the project and having the intention of turning it in myself and not letting you get any credit for it. Will you forgive me?"

Lucas thought for a few seconds then said, "Of course I will silly! It was just a minor glitch that's all. No relationship is perfect everyone has arguments! I'm sorry for the things that I said too."

Ariella smiled then got out the work that she had been carrying around with her.

"Here's what I've done. Feel free to change it if you want to. After all you are my partner."

Lucas smiled and took the parchment from Ariella. They spent the rest of the evening in the library trying to complete their project but didn't manage to. They decided that they would have to complete it after the Hogsmeade visit the next day.

* * *

_Remember to review!_


	12. Chapter 12 Dress Shopping

_**A/N:**_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own anything that you recognise. I only own the characters, items and locations that you don't recognise._

_**Summary:**__ When shy and intelligent Ariella Potter and Quidditch hotshot Lucas Malfoy get paired together for a school project, Ariella knows that she shouldn't feel anything but hatred towards him. So why does she feel attracted to him? And what will Ariella do when Lucas returns her affections? Will they ever break free from their cliques and parents' rivalry so they can be together?_

_I'm going to finish this fic today and post chapter one of the sequel. After that I'll post a chapter a week because I'm stil writing the sequel._

_**Reviews:**_

_**Nadia - **_

* * *

Chapter Twelve – Dress Shopping.

The next day, Dawn, Ariella and Lucas walked into Hogsmeade. One they were inside the tiny village they stopped walking and Ariella looked at Lucas.

"We're going to go and get our dresses for the Yule Ball. We'll meet you in the Three Broomsticks for a drink afterwards. Just go in there, I'm sure that you'll find some of your teammates in there. We won't be long I promise," Ariella told him.

"Knowing you girls I'll see you in three hours then," Lucas replied.

Ariella and Dawn laughed then said goodbye and walked to the dress shop. Once they were inside _Dresses For All Occasions_ they saw various dresses of different sizes and colours. Dawn picked up a couple of dresses and led Ariella to the changing rooms so she could try them on. After a few minutes Dawn came out in her first dress. It was a lemon yellow, full-length ball gown. It was strapless and had glitter over the bodice and top of the skirt. Ariella looked at it with a disgusted look on her face.

"What's wrong?" Dawn asked.

"It clashes with your hair. Yellow isn't your colour. Try the next one on," Ariella replied.

Dawn nodded and went back into the changing room. After a few more minutes she came out with another dress on. This time it was a rather casual white sundress.

"Too casual. What about the last one?" Ariella told her.

Dawn turned back round and closed the curtain to change into the third and final dress. When she opened the curtain Ariella looked at the dress she was wearing and was utterly gob smacked.

"What's wrong?" Dawn asked.

"It's perfect! Dawn you have to get that one!" Ariella replied excitedly.

Dawn nodded and closed the curtain once again to change. Once she came out she and Ariella went back into the main part of the shop and picked up some dresses for Ariella to try on. When Ariella opened the curtain to reveal the first dress that she had tried on Dawn told her that it was perfect. However Ariella looked at the price tag and decided that it was too expensive and settled for a different dress. The dress she settled for was a halter neck, short, pink dress. As she was changing, Ariella heard Khadesia talking to Alyssa in the next room.

"Lucas is only taking Potter because he pities her. Once the ball is over he'll go back to usual and come after me. We all know that he likes me really don't we Alyssa."

"Of course Khadesia. Ariella is going to be in a pit of depression for the rest of her life."

Ariella walked back out of the changing room and looked at Dawn. Dawn saw the tears in her eyes and asked her what was wrong.

"Lucas is only taking me to the ball because he pities me. I've just heard Khadesia talking about it," Ariella replied.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure what she is saying is her usual lies. We'll ask Lucas when we see him in a minute."

Ariella nodded and both girls went to the cash desk to pay for their dresses. A few minutes later they were sitting at the table that Lucas was sitting at in the Three Broomsticks while he was at the bar getting the girls a drink. Once he rejoined them, Ariella looked at Lucas and sighed.

"What's wrong Ari?" he asked with concern in his voice.

"I overheard Khadesia talking in the shop. She said that you're only taking me to the ball because you pity me. Is it true Lucas?" Ariella asked.

"Of course not! She's lying. Don't listen to anything she says Ari. She's just jealous."

Ariella nodded and sipped her butterbeer. However she couldn't get what Khadesia had said out of her head.

* * *

_Don't forget to review!_


	13. Chapter 13 Khadesia Strikes Again

_**A/N:**_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own anything that you recognise. I only own the characters, items and locations that you don't recognise._

_**Summary: **When shy and intelligent Ariella Potter and Quidditch hotshot Lucas Malfoy get paired together for a school project, Ariella knows that she shouldn't feel anything but hatred towards him. So why does she feel attracted to him? And what will Ariella do when Lucas returns her affections? Will they ever break free from their cliques and parents' rivalry so they can be together?_

* * *

Chapter Thirteen – Khadesia Strikes Again.

When they were back at Hogwarts, Lucas said goodbye to Ariella and Dawn and walked back to the Slytherin common room. Halfway there Khadesia cornered him. What Lucas didn't know was that Ariella had followed him and was within earshot of everything that was being said.

"Luke admit that you don't like her. I know that you don't like her," Khadesia was saying to him.

"I'm not going to because I do like her! Khadesia you're being incredibly stupid now! Just let go and admit that you know that I don't like you!" Lucas replied.

"Because I know that you do Luke!"

Lucas shook his head and looked at the girl in front of him. Sometimes he just wished that she would go away and leave him alone. Khadesia stepped forward and whispered something in his ear.

"Admit it and I'll leave you alone. That's what you want isn't it? You want me to leave you alone!" Khadesia whispered.

Lucas sighed then said the one thing that he knew he was going to regret saying for the rest of his life.

"Okay, I don't like her! I'm using her! Are you happy now?" he shouted.

Lucas then pushed past her and ran back to the common room. Ariella had heard everything from where she was standing and tears were silently running down her face. She ran back to the library and sat at a table staring into space until Lucas arrived. All the time that he was there, Ariella wouldn't speak to him and he didn't know what he had done now. When the project was completed, Lucas put down his quill and looked at her.

"What's wrong?"

"You lied," Ariella replied simply.

"Lied about what? Ari I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Don't Ari me Malfoy! I heard what you said to Khadesia! Just forget about us! Forget we were even friends!"

"Ariella! I said that to get her off my back! Don't listen to what other people say! They're manipulating us! If you believe them then it will only make us hate each other!" Lucas exclaimed.

"Maybe that's how it's supposed to be! We're supposed to hate each other! Forget it Malfoy!"

"FINE POTTER!" Lucas shouted as she left the library.

In the days leading up to the Yule Ball, Lucas tried to talk to Ariella but she wouldn't have any of it. When he was at the end of his tether, Lucas decided to pay Dawn a visit.

"Dawn I mucked things up with Ari! Is there any way I can fix it?" Lucas asked desperately.

"There's one way. In _Dresses For All Occasions_ Ariella found a dress that she really liked but she couldn't buy it because it was too expensive."

"What does it look like?"

"If you want I can sneak into Hogsmeade and reserve it while you owl them. I'm sure that they would send it to you."

"If I give you the money can you buy it and ask them to owl it to me?" Lucas asked.

Dawn nodded and watched as Lucas gave her a pouch of galleons.

"Why do you carry this much around with you?" Dawn asked.

"I had it in my trunk and I brought it with me hoping that you would have a solution," Lucas replied.

Dawn nodded and said that she'd see him in a few and ran to the secret passageway that led to Hogsmeade. Half an hour later Dawn came back and gave him the thumbs up to say that they were sending it to him at that very moment. Lucas smiled and walked briskly back to his dormitory where sure enough there was an owl waiting for him. Lucas relieved the owl of its package and sat down on his bed with a piece of parchment and a quill to write a letter.

_Ariella,_

_I really didn't mean to say those things to Khadesia. She manipulated me into saying them and I regret saying it now. I know that I will regret it for the rest of my life. I do like you and I would love to take you to the ball but if you don't have the gift on you then I'll know that you don't forgive me and I will leave you alone. If that happens I'll probably end up dying alone because no other girl could ever match up to you! If we can get past what people are saying about us then we can break free and make everyone__ realise__ that two people from different houses can be friends. See you at the ball I hope._

_Lucas._

Lucas put the letter into the box then carried it back down to the Great Hall where he was hoping that he would run into Dawn. Sure enough he did and he beckoned her over to him.

"Can you put this on her bed please. This is my last hope!" Lucas told her.

Dawn nodded and walked off in the direction of Gryffindor tower. Once she was inside the tower Dawn walked up the stairs to the girls' dormitories and put the box on Ariella's bed. Ariella looked at her and sighed.

"What's that?" she asked.

"An owl delivered it in the Great Hall. It's for you," Dawn replied.

Ariella nodded and opened the box. When she saw the dress inside she gasped.

"Who's it from?" asked Dawn.

"I don't know. There's a letter," Ariella replied.

Ariella picked the letter up and quickly read it. Once she had finished she looked at Dawn with tears in her eyes.

"It's from Lucas to say that he's sorry. What do I do Dawn?"

"I think that you should wear it! He's really cut up about what happened Ari."

Ariella nodded and lay back down on her bed while she read the letter again.

* * *

_Don't forget to review!_


	14. Chapter 14 Getting Ready For The Ball

_**A/N:**_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own anything that you recognise. I only own the characters, items and locations that you don't recognise._

_**Summary: **When shy and intelligent Ariella Potter and Quidditch hotshot Lucas Malfoy get paired together for a school project, Ariella knows that she shouldn't feel anything but hatred towards him. So why does she feel attracted to him? And what will Ariella do when Lucas returns her affections? Will they ever break free from their cliques and parents' rivalry so they can be together?_

* * *

Chapter Fourteen – Getting Ready For The Ball.

Slowly but surely the day of the ball arrived and Dawn and Ariella was getting ready for the ball. They had decided to be fashionably late and make a grand entrance when everyone was least expecting it. Down in the Great Hall the tables had been conjured into lots of tiny circular tables. While Ariella and Dawn were getting ready an owl flew to the dormitory window and Ariella noticed that it was her father's owl. She walked over to the window and took the letter from the owl. It said:

_Ariella,_

_After some deliberation with your mother I have decided that you are happy being with Lucas Malfoy, which is why I have decided to give the relationship my blessing. However if he ever hurts you then I will not be happy and he will have to suffer the consequences. Have fun at the ball._

_Love dad._

Ariella showed the letter to Dawn who smiled and hugged her best friend. Meanwhile Lucas had decided to pay a visit to his father and tell him exactly what he thought.

"Father! I love her and there's nothing you can do about this relationship! No matter how hard you try you will never succeed in breaking us up!" Lucas exclaimed.

Draco Malfoy sat in his armchair and looked at his son. He could see the same expressions that he himself had had on his face when he told his father that he was marrying Pansy. Draco smiled at Lucas and nodded his head in a way of showing that he accepted what Lucas had just said. Behind the door Boo was listening to what was being said and walked into the room. Draco looked at her as she sat down on the arm of his chair.

"Luke I'm sorry that I told dad. I didn't think that she meant that much to you," Boo told him.

Lucas nodded and hugged his sister then apparated out of Malfoy manor to the edge of Hogsmeade while Boo clung to his arm for dear life.

Back at Hogwarts, Dessy and Ember entered Ariella's dormitory and sat down on her bed. Ariella looked at them and asked what they wanted.

"We're sorry for owling dad. We shouldn't have," Ember told her.

Ariella nodded and told them they had best start getting ready for the ball. Ember and Dessy bid farewell to Ariella and walked out of the dormitory and left Dawn and Ariella getting ready.

* * *

_Don't forget to review!_


	15. Chapter 15 Breaking Free

_**A/N:**_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own anything that you recognise. I only own the characters, items and locations that you don't recognise._

_**Summary: **When shy and intelligent Ariella Potter and Quidditch hotshot Lucas Malfoy get paired together for a school project, Ariella knows that she shouldn't feel anything but hatred towards him. So why does she feel attracted to him? And what will Ariella do when Lucas returns her affections? Will they ever break free from their cliques and parents' rivalry so they can be together?_

* * *

Chapter Fifteen – Breaking Free.

Down in the Great Hall, Lucas was sat at a table looking for Ariella. He saw Ember who was wearing a black and white full-length dress that had tiny black flowers scattered over it. He also saw Khadesia who was wearing a green, halter neck dress that was made of chiffon. Khadesia looked at him and waved flirtatiously which Lucas didn't return. Boo sat down next to Lucas and he looked at her. She was wearing a turquoise ball gown that had beads scattered over it.

"She's not here yet," Boo stated.

Lucas nodded then looked at Dessy who was stood next to Ember. She was wearing a blue gown that was showered with rhinestones. Lucas then saw Alyssa walk into the Great Hall wearing a red and black short dress that could rival the dress that Khadesia was wearing. The two of them seemed to have a contest going. In Lucas' opinion it was who was worst dressed and he didn't have a clue who won because they both looked as bad as each other. Blake sat down next to Boo and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Boo, you're looking ravishing tonight," Blake stated.

"And you're not looking ravishing. Get lost Blake," Boo replied.

"But Boo I thought that you liked me?"

Boo laughed and looked towards the door where she saw Ariella and Dawn entering the hall. Boo tapped Lucas on the arm and nodded towards the door. Lucas turned around and as soon as he saw Ariella it seemed as though his breath had gotten stuck in his throat. It felt as though he couldn't breathe because to him she looked absolutely beautiful. Ariella was wearing a pink ball gown that had a bodice that was adorned with crystals and the tulle skirt had lots of tiny sequins all over it. Dawn was wearing a short purple dress that fit her figure perfectly. Lucas looked at Boo and spoke quietly.

"She wore it."

"Wore what?" Boo replied.

"The dress I got her. I asked her to wear it if she forgave me."

Boo nodded and saw that Ariella was looking at Lucas.

"Go and talk to her then."

Lucas nodded and got up very slowly so he didn't trip over the bottom of his dress robes. As he was making his way over to Ariella Khadesia stopped him.

"Do you think I look sexy Lucas?" she asked bluntly.

"No I don't."

"We can always go and have fun on our own you know."

"No we can't Khadesia. In case you haven't noticed I'm with Ariella. I already have a girlfriend and I'm not interested in having a bit on the side. That's all you'll ever be. You will never be someone's wife you'll only ever be their bit on the side. Now if you excuse me I have to dance with someone," Lucas told her sternly.

Lucas continued to walk to where Ariella was standing and once he was stood in front of her he spoke.

"May I have this dance?" he asked as he held out his hand.

Ariella nodded and followed Lucas onto the dance floor. As the danced they spoke to each other quietly.

"I'm sorry Lucas."

"I know. I knew that as soon as I saw you in that dress. I knew that you forgave me. I don't want an apology Ari I just wanted you to wear the dress," Lucas explained.

Ariella smiled and laid her head on Lucas' shoulder.

"I love you Ari," Lucas told her.

"I love you too Luke."

They then kissed each other gently and across the hall a loud scream was heard and Khadesia stomped out of the Great Hall with Alyssa following her. As Lucas and Ariella danced, Boo and Dawn looked at each other and smiled.

"Well we can't do anything to break them up. We'll have to go with the flow," Boo told her.

"Of course. They do make a nice couple don't they," Dawn replied.

Boo nodded then held out her hand.

"My name's Boo. What's yours?"

"Dawn. Maybe we should call a truce. After all we have to be there for them now. They're not going to have an easy ride," Dawn replied as she shook Boo's hand.

"Of course. What do you think Blake?" Boo asked.

"Huh? What? I wasn't listening. I was thinking about the fun we could have later Boo. That dress would look fantastic on the dormitory floor," Blake replied.

At this comment Boo got very angry and turned to face Blake.

"How dare you! I've only been flirting with you because it was fun! I don't like you one bit! I only put up with you because you're my brother's friend!" Boo exclaimed.

"Oh but I think you do fancy me!" Blake replied.

"I don't! Now leave me alone!"

However Blake didn't listen to her and put his hand onto her bum and squeezed it. Boo turned round again and slapped him very hard on his face.

"Do that again and I will make sure that you do not have any hands!" Boo hissed.

Lucas heard the commotion and stopped dancing. He slowly walked to where Blake was stood and asked what was happening. Once Boo had told him Lucas got very angry and looked at Blake.

"I don't want you near us again! Do you hear? This is the end of our friendship! NOW GO!" he told Blake.

Blake nodded slowly and walked away. Lucas then looked at Ariella and hugged her. Boo looked at Lucas and smiled.

"Looks like you broke free Luke. Ariella's the best thing that ever happened to you! Don't let go of her!"

Lucas smiled again and realized how far he had come in just over two weeks. He had changed from someone who was very arrogant to someone who had someone to care about. Breaking free from his old life really wasn't as hard as he had thought.

The End...

* * *

_Don't forget to review! I hope you liked it! I'll post the first chapter of the sequel which is named We're All In This Together in a minute!_


	16. Thank You's

_**Some thank you's...**_

_**Thank you to the following people who reviewed **_**Breaking Free:**

_nadia the demented one_

_darkwhiterose_

_Secret world_

_angel-muppet_

_elleminnowpee_

_lemonwdges4_

_designergurl_

_kisseswithluv x_

_momosmileyfaces_

_Ember Riddle_

_**Thank you to the following people who had **_**Breaking Free **_**on their alerts:**_

_Allimba_

_Ember Riddle_

_Lady of the Rogue_

_angel-muppet_

_designergurl_

_gopha-gurl_

_musique-rox_

_nadia the demented one_

_**Thanks to the following people who had **_**Breaking Free **_**on their favourites list:**_

_Cassandra Bellatrix Potter_

_Ember Riddle_

_angel-muppet_

_darkwhiterose_

_dreamy6_

_momosmileyfaces_

_trixy vixy_

_**And lastly thanks to all the silent readers. See if you had reviewed you would have had your name up there too! Look out for **_**We're All In This Together!**


End file.
